Paul Pogba’s brother sentenced to a year in prison for extortion

A Paris court on Thursday sentenced a brother of France midfielder Paul Pogba to a three-year prison term, with two years suspended, after convicting him in a high-profile extortion case.

Mathias Pogba will be able to serve his one-year sentence with an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars.

The court also fined Paul Pogba’s brother 20,000 euros for participating in the attempted extortion of 13 million euros ($13.5 million) from Pogba in 2022, and for putting pressure on the player, his family and his business contacts to obtain the payment.

By all accounts, Paul and Mathias – who is also a professional footballer – have had a good relationship over the years. However, Paul’s claims point to a dramatic breakdown in the relationship between the pair in recent months.

While it has yet to be revealed why Mathias allegedly used his blackmail, it is fair to say that Paul has been the most successful of the Pogba brothers.

Paul Pogba said the gang demanded 13 million euros and had been threatening him for four months.

The acts of intimidation were carried out in Manchester in April, and later in the Italian city of Turin, where Pogba currently plays for Juventus. In Turin, sources said, Pogba recognized his brother Mathias among the gang.

The gang is also said to have terrorized Pogba at the apartment in the Paris district of Lagny-sur-Marne, where Pogba grew up, in late March. There, the gang members accused him of not helping them financially since he became a professional player.

During police interviews, Paul Pogba said he has always been close to his childhood friends and helped them financially when he could.

But in January he kicked one out of his Manchester home after discovering the unnamed man had used Pogba’s credit card to steal €200,000.

“During various hearings, Paul Pogba was able to confide in investigators from the Central Office of the Judicial Police against Organized Crime that he had been cornered by childhood friends and two hooded men armed with assault rifles,” a judicial source said.