Juventus star Paul Pogba told police that he’s the victim of an alleged blackmailing scheme involving his own brother, Mathias. Pogba alleges that he’s being blackmailed for €13 million ($13.044M USD) by a gang, including his elder sibling. Mathias Pogba is reportedly part of an organized crime gang that is demanding Pogba pay them €13 million, or else they’ll make “revelations” about the Juventus midfielder’s career, according to GFFN.
French police sources told the AFP earlier today that part of the €13m attempted blackmail of Paul Pogba scheme was the threat of the release of compromising videos of the midfielder. https://t.co/1nGap3k7PC
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) August 28, 2022
Mathias Pogba posted a series of videos to his Instagram account on Saturday, during which he read a statement that threatened to release “big revelations” about Paul Pogba, PSG star Kylian Mbappe, and renowned agent Rafaela Pimenta.
“The whole world deserves to know certain things so the public can decide if Paul Pogba really deserves the admiration, the respect, his place in the France team, if he is a trustful person and worth representing the world’s youth, working-class areas, and big brands,” Mathias said on Saturday via Instagram.
The Juventus star midfielder released a statement Sunday, via ESPN, which read: “The recent declarations of Mathias Pogba on social media are unfortunately not a surprise. They are coming after threats and attempts of extortion by an organized gang against Paul Pogba.”
New details have also emerged among French media outlets, which indicate that the gang has been actively harassing Pogba since he returned to Turin. The gang, which includes his brother and some childhood friends, have reportedly gone as far as “trapping” Pogba in an incident involving two men with assault rifles. They’ve also allegedly shown up at the Juventus training center to intimidate Pogba.
Among the “revelations” the gang intended to leak was the allegation that Pogba had asked a witch doctor to place a spell on Kylian Mbappe, though the midfielder has denied those allegations.
Should add the full quote which doesn’t make Pogba look as bad pic.twitter.com/zI62p0AxYE
— mx ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@MessiMX30iiii) August 28, 2022
Mathias Pogba formerly had a professional footballing career of his own, having most recently played for Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie in 2016-17, during which he scored 4 goals in 14 appearances. The 32-year-old also played for English clubs Wrexham (now owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney), Crewe Alexandra, and Crawley Town, as well as Italian side Pescara and Scottish side Partick Thistle.