Paul Pogba's brother among gang who 'attempted to extort footballer for £11m'
29 August 2022, 18:16
Paul Pogba's brother is among a group of gangsters who allegedly attempted to extort the footballer, French police have reportedly confirmed.
Former Guinea international Mathias Pogba, 32, published videos in English, French, Italian and Spanish on the weekend in which he vowed to make "great revelations about (his) brother Paul Pogba and his agent Rafaela Pimenta".
French officials the next day confirmed to the Franceinfo news outlet that Mathias was part of an investigation for "attempted extortion in an organised gang" against his brother.
The 29-year-old Juventus forward said in a statement signed by his mother Yeo Moriba and Mr Pimenta that the group had attempted to extract £11million while threatening Paul with assault rifles.
The statement added the videos from Mathias were "unfortunately no surprise".
"They are in addition to threats and extortion attempts by an organised gang against Paul Pogba.
"The competent bodies in Italy and France were informed a month ago and there will be no further comments in relation to the ongoing investigation."
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Mathias, who has played for numerous professional clubs including Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and Partick Thistle, in his weekend video said people needed to know if his brother "deserves his place in the French team and the honour of playing in the World Cup".
Paul is set to defend the World Cup he won with France in 2018 at the upcoming tournament in Qatar.
He re-joined the Serie A giants Juventus on a free transfer after his Manchester United contract expired earlier this summer.
He first arrived at Old Trafford from Le Havre as a 16-year-old in 2009 before being allowed to leave United on a free transfer and join Juventus in 2012.
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