the trial of six relatives including his brother Mathias begins this Tuesday in Paris

JUSTICE – Video blackmail, kidnapping at gunpoint, attempted extortion of millions of euros… Six men, including Paul Pogba’s brother, are on trial from this Tuesday, November 26 in court correctional facility of Paris for their participation in a case which shook the world of football.

There will be six sitting on the dock. Three are childhood friends of Paul Pogba, two are acquaintances from the neighborhood where the Pogba grew up in Roissy-en-Brie (Seine-et-Marne) and the last is his brother, Mathias, three years his senior. All are accused of having tried by different means to extort 13 million euros from the footballer.

The affair came to light at the end of August 2022 with a video broadcast on social networks by Mathias Pogba in four languages ​​(French, Italian, English and Spanish), in which he promised revelations about his younger brother. “All this risks being explosive”Mathias had declared, without further details.

An incredible story of marabouts

This enigmatic video was followed by another in which the big brother accused Paul of having harassed Kylian Mbappé, his teammate with the Blues. In a press release published at the end of August, Paul Pogba’s lawyers as well as his agent Rafaela Pimenta indicated: “The recent statements by Mathias Pogba (…) add to threats and attempts at extortion by an organized gang against Paul Pogba”.

The international, star player of Juventus Turin, had actually filed a complaint in Italy in July 2022 before being heard in France a few days later. To investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime, he declared having been “trapped by childhood friends” on the night of March 19 to 20, 2022.

These relatives are said to have kidnapped and kidnapped him under the threat of two hooded men armed with assault rifles, to demand 13 million euros from him for “service rendered”accusing him of not having helped them financially since he became a professional player. Of the 13 million, he claims to have paid the sum of 100,000 euros.

During his hearings, Paul Pogba also recounted having suffered pressure from these friends at the Blues training center in Clairefontaine, in Manchester where he had a residence and at the training center of the Turin club. Finally he recounted having had to pay a bill for 57,227 euros spent by his same acquaintances in the Adidas store on the Champs-Élysées. Contacted by AFP, Paul Pogba’s lawyer, Me Pierre-Jean Douvier, did not wish to speak before the opening of the trial.

Paul Pogba’s friends deny accusations

Those close to the 2018 world champion have firmly denied these accusations. All declared during the investigation that they had themselves been victims of the two robbers and had even been attacked by these two men who were never identified. During the trial which opens on Tuesday, all five will be tried for extortion, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy.

The sixth defendant, Mathias Pogba, absent the night of the kidnapping, is suspected of having then “committed pressure against his brother Paul and his family in order to ensure payment of the sum of 13 million euros”. He will be tried for attempted extortion and criminal conspiracy.

“The Pogba affair” brought to light fraternal relationships corrupted by competition and money but also the difficult relationships between professional players and their associates before success. “Despite everything that happened, they will always have a place in my heart (…) They were like my family”declared Paul Pogba after a confrontation with his friends in September 2023.

On the sporting front, Juventus announced on November 15 the termination of the contract of the 2018 world champion, suspended for doping until March 2025.