(Paris) “I prefer to trust the word of a teammate”, explained Kylian Mbappé, indirectly involved in the Paul Pogba affair, who “called” him and “gave him his version of the facts”, said he said Monday at a press conference.
Posted at 2:10 p.m.
Target of extortion attempts amounting to millions of euros, Paul Pogba finds himself at the heart of an incredible affair. The name of French football star Kylian Mbappé reluctantly appears in the file, Paul Pogba having explained to investigators that “his blackmailers wanted to discredit him by broadcasting messages in which he would have asked a marabout from his family circle to cast a spell” on the PSG striker, which he denies.
“It’s his word against his brother’s [Mathias]I will trust his word, in the interest of the France team, ”added Mbappé, who was speaking before the Champions League match against Juventus Turin on Tuesday (9 p.m.).
“I’ll see how it goes, but I’m pretty detached from it all,” he commented.
Asked whether this affair could deteriorate his relationship with Paul Pogba, Mbappé replied: “No. Today, I prefer to trust the word of a teammate, he called me and gave me his version of the facts. »
Mbappé “shows no sign of annoyance or concern,” PSG coach Christophe Galtier assured last Tuesday.
During a second hearing with investigators, Paul Pogba denied having hired a marabout to cast a spell on Mbappé, according to France Info.
The Paris prosecutor’s office on Friday opened a judicial investigation into the extortion denounced by the star of the French football team and Juventus Turin.
According to previous information from France Info, confirmed to AFP by a source familiar with the matter, Paul Pogba had told investigators, during a first hearing, that he had been trapped by childhood friends and two hooded men, armed with assault rifles, blaming him for not helping them financially. A sum of 13 million euros would have been claimed from him, and he claims to have paid 100,000 euros.
Among the suspects, he claims to have recognized his older brother Mathias.