Mathias Pogba, older brother of Blues star footballer Paul Pogba, admitted during his police custody in the investigation into the extortion of funds denounced by his brother, to have been at the initiative of a video threatening him, a- we learned Thursday from a source close to the file confirming information from the
Parisian
.
Mathias Pogba, 32, presented himself to the police on Wednesday before being taken into custody.
Five police custody (one Tuesday and four Wednesday including that of Mathias Pogba) were ordered as part of a judicial investigation opened on September 2 in Paris for in particular extortion with a weapon, kidnapping or kidnapping in an organized gang and participation in an association of wrongdoers.
This incredible affair, which shakes the Blues and more broadly the world of football two months before the World Cup in Qatar, started with a complaint filed on July 16 with the parquet floor of Turin (Italy) by Paul Pogba.
The Juventus player denounced in this complaint extortion attempts between March and July 2022 amounting to 13 million euros.
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But the facts only came to light with the publication on August 27 of an enigmatic video of Mathias Pogba, himself a professional footballer, who promised "
revelations
" about his brother.
During his police custody, Mathias admitted, according to a source familiar with the matter, having been at the initiative of this video.
"He's a calm guy, unrecognizable on the video"
However, during a hearing by the investigators, Paul Pogba had estimated that Mathias was "
under pressure
" from people wanting to extract money from him.
A relative of the family contacted by AFP explained that “
Mathias (was) under pressure
”.
"
He's a calm guy, unrecognizable on the video (which triggered the case) where he trembles, he's not like that in life
," added this relative.
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Last week, Mathias Pogba, through the voice of his former lawyer, said he was "
completely foreign to any extortion maneuver against his brother, Paul Pogba
".
Star of the France team, Paul Pogba had told during his first hearing before the investigators of having been trapped by childhood friends and two hooded men, armed with assault rifles, accusing him of not having helped them financially. , according to information from France Info radio, confirmed to AFP by a source familiar with the matter.
Since Tuesday, in addition to Mathias Pogba, four other people - relatives or friends of the two Pogba brothers, according to a source familiar with the matter - have been in custody in this case.