Six men associated with Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba are set to go on trial on Tuesday, charged with blackmail, attempted extortion of millions of euros, and holding Pogba at gunpoint.
The case unfolding in Paris’s criminal court has sent shockwaves through the French football community, given that the alleged perpetrators include three childhood friends and Pogba’s own brother, Mathias.
Tuesday’s trial comes on top of football woes for Pogba, whose career has struggled since France’s 2018 World Cup win when he scored against Croatia in the Moscow final.
He has suffered multiple injuries, leading to his departure from Manchester United in 2022 and his subsequent return to Juventus, where he has alternated between treatment and absence.
This month, Juventus announced the cancellation of Pogba’s contract following his suspension until March 2025 for doping violations.
The six defendants in Paris are accused of attempting to squeeze 13 million euros ($13.5 million) out of Pogba.
His brother, Mathias was the one to go public in the case, publishing a video on social media in August 2022 promising revelations about his younger brother that were “likely to be explosive”.
In a follow-up video, Mathias accused Paul Pogba of casting an evil spell on his teammate, Kylian Mbappe.
Paul Pogba’s lawyers and his agent Rafaela Pimenta said in a statement later the videos “came on top of threats and attempts at extortion”.
He had already filed criminal complaints in Italy and France in July that year.
Pogba has disclosed to French investigators that in March 2022, he was “tricked by childhood friends” from the rough Paris suburb where he and Mathias grew up.
He alleged that they took him before holding him at gunpoint by two men in assault rifles, demanding 13 million euros for “services rendered” and blaming him for not contributing financially.
Pogba mentioned that he had only paid them 100,000 euros at that time.
The footballer said he had also been pressured at the France national team’s training centre in Clairefontaine, at one of his homes in Manchester, and at Juventus’ training ground.
Pogba added that he had also paid a bill of more than 57,000 euros that the same friends had racked up at the Adidas store on Paris’ glitzy Champs-Elysees avenue.
“It’s been really difficult for me off the pitch, what’s happened, it’s been especially hard mentally,” Pogba told broadcaster Al-Jazeera at the end of the last season.
“Money changes people, it’s the truth, it can destroy a family, start a war”.
Paul Pogba’s lawyer Pierre-Jean Douvier declined to comment ahead of the case when contacted by AFP.
His friends have all denied the allegations.
They had “a friendly relationship, with chats, joking around, and alongside that, yes, maybe Paul Pogba gave them a helping hand,” said Karim Morand-Lahouazi, a lawyer for one of the accused.
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