The French soccer world has recently been rocked by another scandal, as the family feud between former World Cup winner and France international Paul Pogba and his older brother Matias Pogba escalated, with Matias facing legal action for allegedly blackmailing his own brother.
According to the Paris prosecutor's office, Matias Bogba, along with five other men, has been charged with "attempted extortion and conspiracy" and will stand trial. The charge stems from an incident two years ago in which Matias was accused of being one of the main masterminds in the extortion of his brother Paulo. The prosecutor's office said the investigation has confirmed that the six men allegedly demanded up to 13 million euros from Paulo and repeatedly threatened him through intimidation tactics, including claims of exposing Paulo's private scandals and failing to support the family financially.
Paul Pogba revealed during the investigation that he had paid 100,000 euros to the organization, including his brother, as a "settlement". He also revealed that the blackmailers had planned to further damage his reputation by spreading rumors that he had "asked a witch doctor to cast a spell on teammate Kylian Mbappe". In response, Paulo vehemently denied the allegations and said he had never done anything to harm his teammate.
Matias Pogba has had a career as a footballer that has not reached the heights of his brother, but has had spells in the lower divisions of Europe. Paul Pogba, on the other hand, was once one of the top midfielders in world football, but in recent years he has come under scrutiny for being involved in a number of off-field fiascoes. He was also banned by the Italian Anti-Doping Court earlier this year for testing positive for testosterone and is currently awaiting a decision from the Swiss Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The revelation of this family feud has undoubtedly pushed Paul Pogba into the limelight once again. For him, finding a solution to his legal and family issues and refocusing on his soccer career will be a major challenge for some time to come.
