(Paris) French prosecutors are investigating allegations that World Cup winner Paul Pogba was the target of extortion attempts by his brother and childhood friends.
Posted at 10:39
The Paris prosecutor’s office announced that it had opened an investigation at the beginning of the month for attempted organized extortion, which is being handled by the anti-corruption police. It does not provide further details regarding an ongoing investigation.
Public broadcaster France-Info reported that Pogba told police that a group of childhood friends had asked him for 13 million euros (CAN 16.9 million) and bullied him on several occasions, claiming that he was not helping them after becoming an international soccer star.
When the group approached Pogba about their request to Juventus’ training center in Turin, he said his brother Mathias Pogba was among them, according to France-Info.
The case became public after Mathias Pogba posted a video and tweet over the weekend threatening to share “explosive revelations” about his brother and French star Kylian Mbappé.
In response, Paul Pogba issued a statement through his lawyer stating that his brother’s allegations were in addition to “threats and extortion attempts by an organized gang against Paul Pogba”.
29-year-old midfielder Paul Pogba won the World Cup with France in 2018 and returned to Juventus this summer after six seasons at Manchester United.
Mathias Pogba, 32, is also a football player who has spent most of his career with lower level teams in England and other European countries.