Mathias Pogba, the elder brother of former France international footballer Paul Pogba, will stand trial along with five other men for being involved in an extortion plan targetting the Juventus midfielder two years ago, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed on Tuesday.
An investigation by the French authorities revealed that 34-year-old Matthias Pogba conspired with five childhood friends in an attempt to scam his younger brother to the tune of 13 million euros.
The six men have been ordered by a judge to appear before the trial, whose start date is yet to be announced.
The men have been charged with extortion and attempted extortion by using violence, abduction and confinement to facilitate a crime or misdemeanour, and criminal conspiracy. Matthias has been charged with “offences of attempted extortion and criminal conspiracy,” the prosecutor’s office said (as per AP).
This recent saga will be the latest controversy to hit Paul Pogba’s career. The explosive midfielder was recently handed a four-year ban from all football-related activities in August after he failed a doping test as traces of testosterone-enhancing drug DHEA were found in his blood.
What did Matthias do to Paul Pogba two years ago?
Paul Pogba, who has previously played for Manchester United, filed a complaint in front of French authorities after he was kidnapped and robbed in March 2022 by two masked men carrying arms.
The five childhood friends of Matthias Pogba then proceeded to demand 13 million euros from the younger Pogba brother for providing ‘protection services’. The masked men reportedly claimed that the World Cup winner did not ‘support them’ after gaining international fame.
Paul Pogba told the investigators that he paid 100,000 euros to the masked men, and that the group had further tried to tarnish his image by fabricating stories that he employed a witch doctor to cast a spell on France teammate Kylian Mbappe.
