Paris (AFP) – Six relatives of Paul Pogba, including his older brother, are on trial from Tuesday afternoon before the Paris criminal court for trying to extort 13 million euros from the footballer by different means in 2022.
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Some are childhood friends, others met him in their shared neighborhood in Roissy-en-Brie (Seine-et-Marne) and the last is his big brother, Mathias, three years his senior.
All six must appear until December 3 for their involvement in what has been described as the “Pogba affair”: blackmail, pressure and even kidnapping at gunpoint with the aim of extorting 13 million euros for the midfielder, who was playing at the material time at Manchester United then at Juventus Turin.
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. “ This could all be explosive. » Mathias declared, without further details.
This enigmatic video was followed by another in which the big brother accused Paul of having harassed Kylian Mbappé, his teammate with the Blues.
“ The recent statements of Mathias Pogba (…) add to threats and attempts at extortion by an organized gang against Paul Pogba”Paul Pogba’s lawyers and his agent Rafaela Pimenta then said.
The international, who had just re-signed for Juventus after six seasons at Manchester United, 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 (Oclco), he declared having been “ trapped by childhood friends » on the night of March 19 to 20, 2022, at a time when he was still arriving in Manchester.
These relatives allegedly kidnapped him and sequestered 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 club’s training center in Turin.
Finally, he said he had to pay a bill for 57,227 euros spent by these same acquaintances in the Adidas store on the Champs-Elysées.
Contacted by AFP, Paul Pogba’s lawyer, Me Pierre-Jean Douvier, did not wish to speak before the opening of the trial.
“ A relationship of brothers »
Those close to the 2018 world champion firmly denied these accusations. “ It was a relationship of friendship, discussion, laughs, and besides that, yes, Paul Pogba perhaps gave them advantages », Declared to AFP, Me Karim Morand-Lahouazi, lawyer for one of the five friends.
In their defense, all claimed to have themselves been victims of violence and pressure from the hooded robbers who were never identified. “ My client also found himself on the ground, hands on his head with a gun pointed at him », recalled Me Morand-Lahouazi.
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.
During the debates, the relations between the two brothers will undoubtedly be discussed.
During a hearing before the investigating judge a few months ago, Paul Pogba recounted how money had separated the two brothers, making Mathias financially dependent on him. “ I wanted us to resume a relationship as brothers and not a financial relationship “, he declared.
A few months ago, before the same judge, Mathias also declared: “ I hope that our union will be reconsolidated “.
The defendants, one of whom will appear in prison, risk between five and ten years in prison.