Paul Pogba's brother to stand trial in extortion & abduction case that targeted ex-Man Utd star

According to ESPN, Pogba's brother and five others are set to appear in court as part of an extortion case that targeted the Juventus midfielder two years ago. The World Cup winner's sibling was taken into custody in September 2022 after allegations of blackmail emerged, with him and five others allegedly attempting to extort £11 million from Pogba.

The group is accused of extortion and attempted extortion through the use of violence, abduction and confinement to facilitate a crime or misdemeanor, along with criminal conspiracy.

The prosecutor's office said Mathias will stand trial "for the offenses of attempted extortion and criminal conspiracy".
According to reports, the ordeal was so impactful that Pogba considered retiring at one stage, with the midfielder appearing in court to say that it had a "big impact" on his mental health. Concurrently, Pogba's playing career has been massively derailed since, with repeated injuries keeping him on the sidelines before he was slapped with a massive four-year doping ban earlier this year.

In an explosive video posted on social media around the time he was taken into custody, Mathias called his brother a "vile and despicable" human, accusing him of "shutting up all that could reveal things by using his celebrity, his money and his relationships and all other means possible". During the investigation, Pogba said he paid €100,000 to his brother and the rest of the organised group before revealing their alleged attempts to discredit him by claiming he had ordered a witch doctor to cast a spell on France colleague Kylian Mbappe - as per ESPN.

The court date for this extortion case has not yet been announced, but Pogba is currently dealing with his own legal issues. The Juventus midfielder was banned for four years after testing positive for the substance DHEA, but has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and is hoping to see the verdict overturned.