Manchester United attacker Bruno Fernandes reacted to Paul Pogba playing his first professional minutes in over two years.
On Saturday, Pogba was introduced in the 85th minute at Rennes' Roazhon Park, with his Monaco side four goals and a player down following a Denis Zakaria red card.
The former France international made his last competitive appearance 811 days earlier, when he featured for Juventus in a Serie A encounter against Empoli.
Indeed, Pogba was provisionally banned from football for four years after a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone.
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The France World Cup winner has long insisted it was a mistake and that he was given a supplement unaware it contained a banned substance.
Pogba had his ban reduced to 19 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and in turn, went on to sign for French club Monaco this summer.
Despite the 4-1 loss, Pogba’s return against Rennes created ripples in the world of football.
Indeed, his former United team-mate Fernandes shared a picture of Pogba making his Monaco debut on his Instagram story, alongside the caption: “Pogbaaaack”.
On his return, Pogba said via France24: "Football isn't over for me. We've worked hard, we've waited more than two years to get back, and today it finally happened. Thank God.
"It really touched me to see the crowd stand and applaud. I honestly didn't expect that, so a huge thank you to all the fans who were there today and supported me.”
The 32-year-old added: "It's great... the return of Paul Pogba, but I play for Monaco - that's my team, and I hate losing.
"I'm relieved to be back playing football, the thing I love most in the world.
"But there's still work to do to get back to full fitness, play 90 minutes, and help the team as much as possible.”
Topics: Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, Monaco, Football, Ligue 1
Chris Byfield