Pogba made the claim of extortion through his legal team in a statement obtained by CNN on Monday.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told CNN an investigation was launched earlier this month. “I can confirm that an investigation was opened on 3 August 2022, in particular on the charge of extortion in an organized gang and attempted extortion in an organized gang,” the statement reads.
“The investigations were entrusted to the OCLCO,” the prosecutor’s office continued. The OCLCO is the branch of the French judicial police in charge of investigations into organized crime.
Pogba’s statement came after his brother Mathias Pogba released a series of videos on Instagram in English, French, Spanish and Italian in which he claimed that he would make “great revelations” about the conduct of his brother and Rafaela Pimenta, his agent.
In his Saturday video, Mathias said, “The French, Italian and English public… and even more, the French national team and Juventus team, my brother’s teammates and his sponsors deserve to know certain things in order to make an informed decision if he deserves the admiration, respect and love of the public. Whether he deserves his place in the French national 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 to be taken as a representative model by the youth and of course, the big brands?”
Paul Pogba’s statement, which was signed by his lawyers, his mother Yeo Moriba and Pimenta, reads, “Unfortunately, Mathias Pogba’s recent social media posts are not a surprise and follow other attempts over a prolonged period to seek to extort Paul Pogba.
“The facts have been reported to Italian and French police a month ago and there will be no further comments on current investigations.”
CNN reached out to Mathias Pogba for further comment but he did not respond immediately.
Paul Pogba, 29, returned to Juventus, in Italy’s Serie A, in July after six years at Manchester United in England’s Premier League. Juventus offered no comment on the matter.
CNN reached out to Italian police for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Pogba was a member of France’s World Cup winning team in 2018.
