On Sunday, Mathias, who has played for the likes of Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and Crawley town, posted a bizarre three-minute video on social media in which he promised to reveal “explosive” information about his younger sibling.
He said that Pogba’s teammates and sponsors “deserve to know certain things”.
Later on in the evening, the story took a remarkable twist as it emerged Pogba had told Italian and French authorities that an organised criminal gang involving his brother have blackmailed him for a sum of €13 million.
FranceInfo published the story, which featured some quite sensational and worrying details.
And Mathias, aged 32, has reacted in a Twitter thread by accusing his brother of lying to police and trying to send him to prison.
In addition, he claimed the world will see that there is “nobody more coward, traitorous and hypocritical” than the former Manchester United midfielder.
“What I expected has happened. My little brother is finally starting has shown his true face. He lied to the police and brought out the info, you can’t blame me,” Mathias wrote on Twitter.
“Paul, you wanted to shut me up to lie and send me to prison. I suspected it and now it’s true. My version of the facts happens and unlike you, I have enough to prove my words and your lies. I’ll tell you again: brother, manipulating people is not good!
“It’s not about money: You implicated me and I almost died because of you, you left me in the hole while fleeing and you want to pretend you are innocent. When everything is public, people will see that nobody is more coward, traitorous and hypocritical than you on this earth.”
In interviews with investigators, Pogba is believed to have told them he was intimidated by two hooded men carrying assault rifles in a Paris apartment in March and they demanded he hand over €13 million in funds.
The men in question are said to be his childhood friends who believe they are entitled to some of his finances for protecting him.
In January, Pogba cut ties with one individual after discovering he used his credit card to steal €200,000 and kicked him out of his house in Manchester.
The blackmailers are understood to have shown up at Juventus’ training ground last month and Pogba, with the help of club lawyers, decided to go to the police.
The gang are alleged to have threatened to invent a fake news story that Pogba requested a Muslim witch doctor cast a spell on teammate Kylian Mbappe – something he strongly denies.
“The recent declarations of Mathias Pogba on social media are unfortunately not a surprise,” Pogba said in a statement.They are coming after threats and attempts of extortion by an organised gang against Paul Pogba.”
“This has been referred to the appropriate authorities both in Italy and in France a month ago.”
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba said he is the subject of an extortion attempt after his brother, Mathias, promised “big revelations” against the world football star, per Julien Laurens of ESPN.
In an Instagram video posted Sunday, Mathias said he would reveal secrets about Paul and fellow French international Kylian Mbappe.
“The whole world deserves to know certain things so the public can decide if [Paul Pogba] really deserves the admiration, the respect, his place in the France team, if he is a trustful person and worth representing the world’s youth, working-class areas and big brands,” Mathias said.
Pogba responded to the threats in a statement:
“The recent declarations of Mathias Pogba on social media are unfortunately not a surprise. They are coming after threats and attempts of extortion by an organised gang against Paul Pogba.
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“This has been referred to the appropriate authorities both in Italy and in France a month ago.”
According to Zach Lowy of Breaking the Lines, Mathias was among gang members who took Paul in an armed confrontation last March and demanded €13 million for discreetly protecting him for 13 years.
Juventus’ lawyers eventually notified the police after they showed up at the club’s training grounds in July, per Lowy.
Paul spent the past six years with Manchester United before coming to Juventus on a free transfer this summer. It’s his second stint with the Serie A club after winning four straight league titles from 2012-13 to 2015-16.
The 29-year-old also helped France win the 2018 World Cup alongside Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe.
Mathias, 32, has played in several leagues across Europe, but he is currently unsigned after leaving Belfort, a fourth-division team in France.
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