PARIS
French authorities confirmed on Monday that an investigation had been opened into accusations by footballer Paul Pogba of attempted extortion allegedly committed by his childhood friends and older brother, according to local media.
The Paris prosecutor’s office announced that the investigation had been opened on August 3 for “extortion attempts in an organized gang”, according to a dispatch from FranceInfo radio. Pogba, 29, plays for the French national football team and Juventus football club.
The confirmation comes following a social media post from Mathias Pogba promising a bombshell revelation about his star football player brother, agent Rafaela Pimenta, and France team-mate and Paris-Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe. Saturday August 27.
The following day, Paul Pogba’s lawyers said in a statement that he was receiving “threats and attempted extortion as an organized gang”.
According to FranceInfo, Pogba told investigators from the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime that he was trapped by a gang that included his childhood friends and Mathias. They demanded 13 million euros ($12.9 million) and have repeatedly bullied him since, he alleged.
Pogba claimed in March that his friends had taken him by force to an apartment in Paris, where two armed men were present. His friends blame him for not helping them financially since becoming a professional player and demand that he pay them 13 million euros ($12.9 million) for ‘services’ and quietly protect him for 13 year.
The footballer also said he saw his blackmailers in Manchester, UK, and his brother at Juventus training center in Turin, Italy, after which he informed the club’s lawyers about the extortion threats.
The alleged blackmailers were to reveal messages attributed to Pogba asking a marabout – a Muslim religious leader from North Africa – to cast “a spell”, on his opponents and team-mates, including Kylian Mbappe. Pogba denied the charges to the investigator, according to the report.
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