Paul Pogba's brother charged, held in jail in France after alleged extortion attempts
The brother of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba was charged by French authorities on Saturday after he allegedly organized an armed extortion attempt against him, according to AFP.
Mathias Pogba was taken into police custody on Wednesday in France, and will reportedly wait in jail while a judge determines whether to grant bail. Three others were taken into custody, too.
Paul, in several meetings with investigators last month, said he has been receiving threats and other forms of intimidation since March. He said that in late March, some of his childhood friends dragged him into an apartment and demanded about $13 million for “services rendered” by prospecting him for 13 years. Paul said he paid about $100,000 to the blackmailers in April.
They apparently visited him again later that month in Manchester, while he was playing for Manchester United, and then again in Turin, Italy, in July, where he now plays for Juventus.
During the final visit, Paul said he recognized his older brother and then notified police. The story broke last month after Mathias apparently posted a video to his social media accounts promising to release “big revelations” about Paul, his representative and fellow French star Kylian Mbappé.
Mathias has denied the allegations against him, and his lawyer said last week that Mathias is focused “more than anything else” on easing the situation with Paul.
Paul has now joined Juventus, where he played from 2012-16, after spending the last six seasons with Manchester United. He helped lead France to their win at the World Cup in 2018, too.
