French news agency AFP, citing a source, report that French police have opened an investigation after Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba said he has been the target of extortion and threats from an organised gang.
The Juventus and France midfielder issued a statement through his lawyers on Sunday saying the matter had been reported to the authorities.
According to Pogba, acts of intimidation were carried out in Manchester in April, and later around the Italian city of Turin. The gang is also said to have taken Pogba to a flat in the suburbs of Lagny-sur-Marne, where Pogba grew up, at the end of March where the gang members accused him of not helping them financially since he became a professional player.
During police interviews, Paul Pogba said he had always been close to his childhood friends and helped them out financially when he could.
But in January, he kicked one of them out of his house in Manchester after discovering that the he had used Pogba’s credit card to steal £170,000.
Earlier, Pogba’s brother Mathias, who has had spells at Wrexham, Crewe and Crawley Town in England, posted videos on Twitter promising to reveal ‘explosive’ information about his sibling, shortly after joining the social media platform, on Saturday night. He said the revelations would also involve Pogba’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta and international teammate Kylian Mbappe. The information released by Mathias Pogba is quite explosive with claims of the involvement of a witchdoctor (a claim Paul Pogba has refuted).
Paul Pogba reportedly told French authorities about an alleged plot to blackmail him by a gang that dragged him to a Paris apartment in March and demanded £11m as they threatened him with assault rifles.
The 29-year-old said the men wanted the money for ‘protection services’ stretching back 13 years and also followed him to Manchester.
A source told news outlets that ‘childhood friends’ are named as suspects in this dramatic case.
The World Cup winner with France in 2018 moved to Juventus on a free transfer this summer after leaving Manchester United but picked up an injury which will leave him out of action for a few months.