The elder brother of French footballer Paul Pogba, Mathias Pogba, promised ‘big discoveries’ about the Juventus superstar in a weird video on Saturday.
Paul said a group had tried to extort him for €13 million (£11 million), threatening him with assault guns. The next day, judicial sources in Paris confirmed that an inquiry for “attempted extortion in an organised gang” had been initiated.
According to a person familiar with the investigation, Paul Pogba’s “older brother [Mathias] and boyhood buddies” have all been identified as suspects.
According to all accounts, Paul and Mathias, a professional football player as well, have an excellent connection.
Paul’s allegations, on the other hand, indicate a catastrophic collapse in the couple’s relationship in recent months.
Paul has undoubtedly been the Pogba brothers’ most successful player, even if it is still unknown why Mathias is said to have turned to extortion.
Their very divergent professional paths may help to partially explain the unexpected course of events.
Paul, 29, has had success and wealth that most players could only dream for, despite his recent struggles to maintain consistent form.
He has made over 150 appearances for both Manchester United of England and Juventus of Italy while playing for two of the greatest clubs in the world. He has also won a World Cup with the French national side.
Pogba won the 2018 tournament in Russia and even assisted on the game’s third goal, which gave France a thrilling 4-2 victory against Croatia.
He has four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles with Juventus. He won the League Cup and the UEFA Europa League with Manchester United in 2017.
He has become one of the sport’s highest-earning athletes and most marketable celebrities, adding to his success and earning a reputation as a larger-than-life personality.
He was reportedly making about £15 million annually until he departed Manchester United earlier this year. After joining Juventus, it is said that he is now making £7 million a year in addition to his rich sponsorship agreements.
Furthermore, he is one of the most well-known players in the world with over 55 million Instagram followers. Only athletes like Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Cristiano Ronaldo have more followers on social media.
Due to his affluence, he has acquired a taste for showy acquisitions like expensive vehicles and opulent mansions, to the point that some analysts have questioned his dedication to football despite his evident talent.
Instagram posts and paparazzi photos have shown his luxurious lifestyle, which includes having a Rolls Royce chauffeur and playing table football in his home’s basement in front of a massive fish tank.
His £3 million property in Manchester, which had a swimming pool and its own indoor mini-football field, had to be sold in order for him to go to Turin.
He apparently also has a residence in Miami and is wed to Maria Zulay Salaues, a model from Bolivia. Together, they are parents of two kids.
Both of his parents, Yeo Moriba Pogba and Fassou Antoine, were born in Guinea. Paul was born in France three years after Mathias and Florentin, his other two brothers, who are twins, were also born there.
Paul Pogba has been able to share his accomplishments with his family, who have been a constant source of support, as is often the desire of footballing superstars from lowly backgrounds.
His mother and brothers have often been seen cheering Paul on from the stands, and they jointly and deeply celebrated his World Cup victory in 2018. Up until his passing in 2017, his father often observed his games.
Both Mathias and Florentin play football professionally.
Currently, Mathias works for ASM Belfort, a team in France’s fourth division, while Florentin defends for Indian club ATK Mohun Bagan.
Previously, Mathias played for Wrexham, Crewe, and Crawley Town in English football, however he only made 66 appearances for any one team (Wrexham).
From 2010 until 2012, Mathias lived with Paul when he was playing for the Welsh club. At the time, Paul was having trouble adjusting to life at Old Trafford.
The kind of worldwide popularity that Paul has attained over the last ten years, however, has not been attained by any of his elder brothers. Particularly Mathias has moved from club to club while playing for B-Teams or in lesser categories.
Since Mathias’ teams, such as Crawley Town, Sparta Rotterdam, and Racing Murcia, don’t have the same financial heft as teams like Manchester United and Juventus, he will have made far less money while playing.
And although both Mathias and Florentin represented Guinea at the international level, Mathias has since retired.
Paul, meanwhile, is still playing for France and will likely be on the squad that defends its World Cup title in Qatar later this year.
According to Paul, the gang accused Mathias of not assisting them financially since he became a household figure, and it seems that their relationship has significantly deteriorated in recent months.
Paul allegedly said that the guys demanded payment for “security services” that dated back 13 years, including the period he spent in Manchester.
In Turin, he believes he recognised Mathias among those who came to his house to threaten him, according to reports.
He claims two armed men indicated they “protected him quietly” over a period of more than ten years.
The tapes “are regrettably no surprise,” according to a statement signed by his attorneys, his mother, and current agent Rafaela Pimenta, and they come on top of earlier “threats and extortion efforts.”
One such threat allegedly came from Pogba, who also denied asking a witch doctor to put a hex on Kylian Mbappe, a talented player for Paris Saint-Germain and a fellow French national team member.
On Sunday, judicial authorities in Paris confirmed the opening of an inquiry into “attempted extortion in an organised gang.”
According to a person familiar with the investigation, Pogba’s “big brother and childhood buddies” have all been listed as suspects, Franceinfo said on Sunday night.
However, Mathias vehemently refuted the allegations made by his more well-known sister yesterday night on Twitter.
“Paul, you truly intended to silence me fully to lie and put me in jail,” he said. “Now that it’s true, my version of the events really happen and unlike you.”
Pogba said the group had been threatening him for four months and demanded €13 million, or £11 million.
Intimidation was used in Manchester in April and subsequently in and around Turin, Italy, where Pogba plays for Juventus. According to reports, Pogba recognised his brother Mathias among the group in Turin.
At the end of March, the group is said to have taken Pogba to his childhood home in the Paris neighbourhood of Lagny-sur-Marne. There, the gang members accused him of failing to support them financially ever since he became pro.
Paul Pogba said during his police interrogation that he had always been close to his childhood buddies and had supported them financially whenever he could.
But in January, he ejected a guy from his Manchester home after learning that the unnamed individual had stolen €200,000 (about £170,000) using Pogba’s credit card.
According to a court source, Paul Pogba was able to tell investigators from the Central Office of Judicial Police Combating Organized Crime that he was detained by two hooded individuals with assault guns and two boyhood pals throughout a number of sessions.
Along with his two brothers, Paul Pogba was born and reared in Lagny-sur-Marne. This past weekend, Mathias promised “explosive disclosures” about his brother on social media.
The French team and Juventus, my brother’s teammates and his sponsors, as well as the French public, the English public, the Italian public, and the Spanish public, even the whole globe, he said, “deserve to know some things.”
“So that I may decide for myself whether he merits the public’s love, respect, and affection.
“If he deserves to represent France in the World Cup and to earn his spot on the squad.” If Juventus will start him if he merits it.
If he is a reliable individual, any player should value having him at his side.
Rafaela Pimenta, the brother’s agent and attorney, was also addressed by Mathias Pogba. Following the passing of Paul Pogba’s previous agent, Mino Raiola, in April, Pimenta has taken over management of the French player’s career.
Her suitability for the job has been questioned by Mathias Pogba.
In order for the players and fans to choose if she “deserves to represent them,” he promised to inform them of her “integrity, professionalism, and loyalty.”
Kylian Mbappe was mentioned by Pogba as he wrapped off his video, saying he had “important things” to say about the 23-year-old.
Mathias Pogba stated of Mbappe, “I will tell you extremely significant things about him and there will be components and many testimony to corroborate my remarks.” “Everything might explode and make a lot of noise,” the saying goes.
Mathias teased the’reveals’ in a post on Instagram, saying: ‘Hi everyone, here’s my new social media accounts built especially for the event to better disseminate of what’s coming, it’s going to be boiling!’ Please feel free to follow me wherever I go and on my journey since nothing I have to say will be muzzled.
Yeo Moriba, Paul Pogba’s mother, and Pimenta, the Frenchman’s legal counsel, have since replied to Mathias’s threats.
They remarked, “Mathias Pogba’s latest comments on social networks are regrettably not a surprise.” “They are in addition to threats and coordinated extortion efforts on Paul Pogba,” the statement said.
Paul Pogba is being asked for significant quantities of money, according to two family-friendly individuals who spoke with AFP, if he wants to stop the spread of the supposedly incriminating films.
Pogba also told investigators that his blackmailers sought to damage his reputation by making the false accusation that he requested a marabout, a holy man, to cast a spell on Mbappe, a player for Paris Saint-Germain and France, which Pogba vehemently refutes.
After reading the allegations in the French media this evening, Mathias also turned to Twitter to criticise his brother, writing: “My little brother is now beginning to reveal his real face.”
The existence of an inquiry was verified by the French prosecutor to Reuters.
“I thus certify that an investigation was initiated on August 3, 2022, regarding the allegation of an organised criminal gang’s attempted extortion.
The prosecutor’s office said that the OCLCO has been given the responsibility for the investigations.
The judicial police’s OCLCO section is in charge of looking into organised crime.
At the next World Cup in Qatar, which he won with France in 2018, Paul Pogba wants to defend his title.
After his contract with Manchester United ended earlier this summer, he re-joined the Serie A powerhouses on a free transfer.
Before being permitted to leave United on a free transfer and join Juventus in 2012, he initially came at Old Trafford from Le Havre as a 16-year-old in 2009.
Next month, he’s anticipated to be back in the game.