Pogba alleged the extortion through his legal team in a statement obtained by CNN on Monday.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told CNN that an investigation was opened earlier this month. “I can confirm that an investigation was opened on August 3, 2022, including the charge of organized gang extortion and attempted organized gang extortion,” the statement said.
“The investigations were entrusted to the OCLCO”, continued the prosecution. The OCLCO is the branch of the French judicial police responsible for investigating organized crime.
Pogba’s statement came after his brother Mathias Pogba posted a series of videos on Instagram in English, French, Spanish and Italian in which he claimed he would make ‘big revelations’ about the conduct of his brother and Rafaela. Pepper, his agent.
In his video from Saturday, Mathias said: “The French, Italian and English public… and even more, the France team and the Juventus team, my brother’s teammates and his sponsors deserve to know some things in order to make an informed decision if he deserves the admiration, respect and love of the public, that he deserves his place in the France team, and the honor of playing in a World Cup… If he is a trustworthy person that any player would want to have by his side And finally, is he worthy of being taken as a representative role model by the youth and of course, the big brands?
Paul Pogba’s statement, which was signed by his lawyers, mother Yeo Moriba and Pimenta, reads: “Unfortunately, Mathias Pogba’s recent social media posts come as no surprise and follow other attempts over an extended period of time to try to extort Paul Pogba.
“The facts were reported to the Italian and French police a month ago and there will be no further comments on the ongoing investigations.”
CNN contacted Mathias Pogba for further comment, but he did not immediately respond.
Paul Pogba, 29, returned to Juventus, in Italy’s Serie A, in July after six years at Manchester United in the English Premier League. Juventus have not commented on this.
Italian police confirmed to CNN that they are not investigating the allegations.
Pogba was a member of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018.
