Paul Pogba has been at the heart of a strange extortion case since this weekend, with equally astonishing ramifications. Attention is focused in particular on his older brother, Mathias...
An attempt at extortion through threats or even kidnapping, blackmail which would relate to an alleged "maraboutage" of Kylian Mbappé, a cumbersome older brother... The Paul Pogba affair, which was revealed this weekend, has something to surprise. Everything erupted this Sunday, August 28, with the publication in the press and in particular by France Info and AFP of information on a hearing of Paul Pogba with the services of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ).
Paul Pogba accuses relatives, "childhood friends" of Lagny-sur-Marne and in particular his brother Mathias, of attempted extortion involving 13 million euros. The midfielder of the France team, still uncertain for the next World Cup in Qatar because of a knee problem, would have been physically threatened. His attackers would also have tried to blackmail him by threatening to broadcast a video where he would have asked a marabout "to cast a spell" on Kylian Mbappé. Summary of a funny affair in 5 acts:
The day before, Saturday August 27, Mathias Pogba, 32, had posted a series of intriguing messages on social networks. Paul Pogba's older brother then promised "big revelations" about his younger brother, 29, putting the football world in feverish expectation. In this video broadcast in four languages (French, Italian, English and Spanish), Mathias Pogba, himself a professional footballer, announced that "the whole world", like Juventus Turin, the Italian club where his brother returned this summer after a first spell between 2012 and 2016, and six seasons at Manchester United, "deserve to know certain things in order to decide in full knowledge of the facts whether he (Paul Pogba) really deserves the admiration, the respect, his place in the team of France, if he is a trustworthy person". "All of this risks being explosive," he concluded, without further details.
Sunday August 28, Paul Pogba counterattacked via a press release signed by his lawyers and his agent Rafaela Pimenta, who has just taken over the company of Mino Raiola, the recently deceased star agent. "Mathias Pogba's recent statements on social media are unfortunately not a surprise. They come on top of threats and organized gang extortion attempts against Paul Pogba," the statement said. "The competent authorities in Italy and France were seized a month ago and there will be no further comments on the ongoing investigation", continued the representatives of Paul Pogba in this press release.
A source familiar with the matter told AFP that an investigation was opened in France in early August and entrusted to the services of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ). According to France Info, Paul Pogba confided during the hearings to investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime that he would have "in particular been trapped by childhood friends and two hooded men armed with assault rifles". They would have claimed 13 million euros for "service rendered", accusing him of not having helped them financially since he became a professional player.
Still according to France Info, Paul Pogba, currently sidelined due to a right knee injury, assured investigators that he had also been bullied several times in Manchester and as far as the Juventus training center. Among the suspects, he allegedly claimed to have recognized his brother Mathias. According to sports columnist Daniel Riolo, who spoke on BFMTV this weekend, Paul Pogba was even briefly kidnapped in March 2022, on the sidelines of a gathering of the Blues.
In this case, the name of the French football star Kylian Mbappé also appears without his knowledge: Paul Pogba explained to the investigators that "his blackmailers wanted to discredit him by broadcasting messages in which he would have asked a marabout from his family circle to cast a spell" on the PSG striker, which the player denies. A video on a USB key was notably mentioned in the press without any image having been revealed at this stage.
For his part, Mathias Pogba maintains his accusations, still without formulating them: "I hope that you will not be fooled by an attempt to manipulate the media and the authorities. When you are famous the world is with you, the authorities listen more carefully. But that doesn't put you above the law, the cops aren't your minions!" he wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Sunday evening, he reacted to the first revelations about his brother's hearing by the police by adding a few messages on Twitter. "Paul, you really wanted to shut me up, even if it means lying and sending me to prison," Mathias wrote. "You left me in the hole while fleeing and you want to play the innocent, he added, when all is said people will see that there is no more cowardly, more traitor and more hypocritical than you on this earth."
Paul Pogba was born on March 15, 1993 in Lagny-sur-Marne. When he started playing football in his hometown, Paul Pogba quickly aroused the interest of recruiters from Le Havre. The latter recruited the young Frenchman in 2007, convinced of his real potential. It is no coincidence that his friends and comrades nicknamed him "La Pioche" or "Pogboom". His ability to hit hard and from afar certainly has something to do with it! Two years later, Paul Pogba joined the Manchester United training center in England, much to the dismay of his training club. A conflict even opposed the two clubs, requiring the intervention of FIFA to ease tensions.
On British soil, Paul Pogba began his professional career in 2011 under Sir Alex Ferguson. Despite his coach's desire to keep him in the Mancunian workforce, Paul Pogba decided the following year to join Italy and put on the Juventus jersey in Turin. The footballer wants to explore new horizons. Under these new colors, the young midfielder takes only a few games to demonstrate the full extent of his talent. With Juventus, Paul Pogba won the Italian championship four times, the four seasons he spent with the Italian club.
In 2016, Paul Pogba signed his return to the English club Manchester United. At the time of signing his contract for a period of five years, he was considered the most expensive player in the history of football. His transfer amounts to 110 million euros, bonus included. His return is rewarded with two major titles: the Europa League and the English League Cup. The following years will, however, be more complicated, since the midfielder has a string of injuries. Its performance suffers and its playing time is reduced. Under pressure, Paul Pogba nevertheless finds the strength to bounce back and finds his best level.
Considered one of the best young footballers in the world, Paul Pogba made the French youth teams happy, before knocking on the door of the A team. Didier Deschamps offered him his chance in March 2013. Since then, the native of Lagny-sur-Marne has gradually established himself as an indisputable holder of the tricolor selection. In 2014, during the World Cup in Brazil, Paul Pogba was also crowned the best young player in the competition. Many see him as the successor to a certain Zinédine Zidane. Despite a lackluster Euro 2016, Paul Pogba retains the confidence of the coach who calls him to participate in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This time, the midfielder fully assumes his role and is decisive in the victory of the French team against Croatia. Paul Pogba is also chosen by Didier Deschamps to participate in Euro 2021.
To date, Paul Pogba is one of the most successful French players. With the Juventus club of Turin, the midfielder won Serie A four times (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). He also won the Italian Cup in 2015 and 2016 as well as the Super Cup in 2013 and 2015. He will also be a finalist in the Champions League in 2015. Under the colors of the Red Devils (Manchester United), the football player raises the English League Cup and the Europa League in 2017 but failed to win an English league title and in two finals: that of the FA Cup in 2018 and the Europa League in 2021. Les Bleus, Paul Pogba won the Under-20 World Cup in 2013 and then the 2018 World Cup.
With a salary of around 17 million euros per year, the Mancunian midfielder is currently one of the highest paid football players. To this amount must be added the various bonuses and other commercial contracts (partnerships, image rights, etc.). According to the Forbes ranking, he ranks among the 50 highest paid athletes on the planet. The player's rating literally soared after his move to Juventus Turin, a club in which he was paid 4.5 million euros per year at the time of his departure.
Discreet, the Manchester United midfielder very rarely reveals information about his private life. The French international has been in a relationship with Bolivian model Maria Salaues since 2017. The young woman was born in Bolivia in 1995 and studied business law. She moved to Miami, to begin her activities as a real estate agent, in parallel with a modest modeling career. It is in the United States, Pogba's favorite vacation spot, that the two young adults meet.
Together, the couple gave birth to two children: a little Labile Shakur, born in 2019, and a baby born in 2021 whose first name is not known. The two pregnancies of Maria Salaues have always been hidden. The birth of their first child was not revealed to the general public until several months later. Paul Pogba announced the big news on his Instagram account. The other woman in Paul Pogba's life is his mother Yeo. A former footballer for the Guinean national women's team, she has followed her son's career since its inception and also encourages her two other sons, Florentin and Mathias, who are also football players.
Airing Friday, June 17, 2022, The Pogmentary features France star Paul Pogba, revealing his rise to the highest level, his successes, fears and failures. In The Pogmentary, several sentences are worth remembering. First his annoyance with Manchester United and his non-extension. They are bluffers! You say you absolutely want a player, but you offer nothing. I have never seen that. The club wouldn't let me go. When you have one year left on your contract, that means you're going to be free. If I decide to stay, we can always find a solution. If I decide to leave, no one will be able to say no to me. No one can stop me. The France - Switzerland of Euro 2021 also takes a place in the documentary with a scenario not at all envisaged. "It was a very nice goal. The ball goes in the top corner… it's full of adrenaline, direct (…) I looked to my right, I was looking for my brothers (in the audience). We really thought that, there, the match was folded." Before the reduction of the gap, then an equalizer (3-3) after a ball lost by Pogba. "I had not read the game. in a hurry… and this loss of ball… I was very upset. No one could have imagined this scenario." Before this scenario, we also discover the complicity with Antoine Griezmann, we discover an exchange on the announcement of the return of KB9 to the France team. "I called Hugo [Lloris], he said to me: 'No, I didn't know', there I called you and you didn't know" launches the Atlético striker.
Finally, beyond sport, the documentary obviously talks about intimacy and his role as a father. ""Football is good, but one day my career will be over and I will always be a dad. He highlights in particular the technological means that allow him to maintain the link with his two sons. "I want my kids be proud of me, think I've done so much, won a World Cup…and think, 'He was there for us too.'
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