Maintaining his innocence against doping claims amidst a four-year ban, French football star Paul Pogba has vowed to appeal the ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In a statement on Thursday, Pogba said he is sad, shocked and heartbroken with the hand he has been dealt at this stage of his career. Expressing that everything he has built as a professional is at stake, Pogba vowed to tell the whole story regarding the doping issue once he’s free of legal restrictions.

“I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me,” he said. “When I am free of legal restrictions the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations.”

“As a professional athlete I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for, or against,” he continued.

Pogba’s club Juventus said on Thursday that Italy’s anti-doping tribunal decided on a four-year ban for the athlete after he tested positive for testosterone last August.

A spokesman for the club told AFP it had been notified of the decision against the 30-year-old World Cup winner, who had been provisionally suspended in September.

Pogba’s representatives said the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States.