Pogba paid blackmailers €100,000

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba paid alleged blackmailers €100,000 after they threatened him in the spring, according to French media.

A criminal investigation is under way in France into claims that Pogba’s childhood friends and his older brother, Mathias, were involved in an attempt to extort €13 million from him.

France Info radio station reported that the former Manchester United footballer, 29, went to see his family in Lagny-sur-Marne, a town near Disneyland east of Paris, after arriving in France to play a friendly international match against the Ivory Coast in March.

He was confronted by a gang that included friends from his childhood and teenage years along with two men armed with assault rifles, he told police.

The radio station, which has seen police files on the investigation, said Pogba claimed that he was forced to go with them to a flat in Paris where they demanded €13 million for “protecting him”.

The station said they had demanded €3 million immediately. Pogba tried to withdraw the funds but was not authorised by his bank. He ended up paying them €100,000, France Info said.

When they continued to demand money, he filed a criminal lawsuit at the start of August alleging that he was the victim of extortion, an offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in France.

Pogba told police that when the gang followed him to Manchester and Turin after his transfer to Juventus, Mathias was present.

Mathias Pogba has accused his brother of lying in an attempt to have him imprisoned. The 32-year-old, also a professional footballer who had spells at Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and Crawley Town, denied the claims in social media posts in which he promised “explosive revelations” about his sibling.

One of those claims is said to be allegations that Pogba enlisted a marabout — a spiritualist who sells magic — to cast a spell against his France team-mate, the Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe. Pogba denies the claim.

Pogba, who was sold to Manchester United for a record transfer fee of £89 million in 2016, said in police interviews that he had always been close to his childhood friends and helped them out financially when he could.

But in January he kicked one out of his house in Manchester after discovering that the unidentified man had used his credit card to steal €200,000.

On Monday the Paris prosecutor’s office said an investigation into “extortion attempts by an organised gang” has been open since August 3.

In videos recorded on social media, Mathias Pogba, who has a twin, Florentin, said: “The French, English, Italian and Spanish public — in other words, the whole world — as well as my brother’s fans, and even more so the France team and Juventus, my brother’s team-mates and his sponsors, deserve to know certain things.

“In order to make an informed decision if he deserves the admiration, respect and love of the public. If he deserves his place in the France team and the honour of playing in the World Cup. If he deserves to be a starter at Juventus. If he is a trustworthy person, that any player deserves to have at his side.”

He also addressed Rafaela Pimenta, his brother’s agent and lawyer, who took over his affairs after the death of his former agent, Mino Raiola, in April. He said he would let fans and players know about “her integrity, her professionalism . . . her loyalty” so they could decide if she “deserves to represent them”.

Mathias Pogba concluded his video by referencing Mbappé, 23, declaring he has “important things” to say about him. “There will be elements and many testimonies to confirm my words,” Mathias said. “Everything could be explosive and make a lot of noise.”

A statement released by Pogba’s lawyers, his mother, Yeo Moriba, and Pimenta said the videos “are unfortunately no surprise” and were in addition to “threats and extortion attempts”. According to sources close to the family large sums are being demanded from Pogba if he wants to avoid the dissemination of allegedly compromising videos.

Mathias Pogba tweeted: “My little brother is starting to show his true face.”