Atlanta United today announced it has signed defender Florentin Pogba as a Discovery Signing. The 28-year-old central defender, who most recently played with Turkish Süper Lig side Gençlerbirliği, will join the club pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.
“We’re pleased to officially welcome Florentin to our club,” said Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra. “He’s a physical center back who also has the ability to play with his feet. He also brings an immense amount of experience after representing his club and country in various international tournaments and we expect him to compete for playing time on our backline.”
Born in Guinea, Pogba was raised in France and started his professional career in 2010 with CS Sedan in Ligue 2. He broke into the squad midway through the 2010-11 season and became a regular starter for Sedan. After making 45 appearances over two seasons, he transferred to AS Saint-Étienne in 2012, but spent a third season with Sedan on loan before making his Ligue 1 debut with the Saints in 2013.
With Saint-Étienne Pogba made 99 total appearances, including 25 appearances in Europa League action across parts of five seasons before he transferred to Gençlerbirliği in January of 2018. He made eight league appearances with the club prior to his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Internationally, Pogba represents Guinea and made his debut as a 19-year-old against Mali on August 11, 2010. He has 14 caps with Guinea. As a youth international, he represented France.
Pogba has two brothers who also play professionally; his younger brother Paul plays for Manchester United and his twin brother Mathias is a striker for French club Tours.
Atlanta United continues its preseason with a match against Club Tijuana at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 6. The match will be streamed live at atlutd.com/live.
PLAYER PROFILE
Name: Florentin Pogba
Position: Defender
Birthdate: August 19, 1990 (age: 28)
Birthplace: Conakry, Guinea
Height: 6-3
Citizenship: France, Guinea
Previous Team: Gençlerbirliği
Transaction: Atlanta United signed Florentin Pogba on Feb. 4, 2019.
