By Victor Kanayo
Mathias Pogba, brother of World Cup winner Paul Pogba, is in for more draining moments before the court.
Mathias alongside five other men will stand trial as part of an extortion case that targeted the France international midfielder two years ago.
According to reports from the Paris prosecutor’s office, a judge has asked Mathias and the five other men to appear before a court following an investigation into the possible extortion of Paul by his older brother and his friends.
Although the court date has not been announced, the prosecutor’s office revealed that 34-year-old Mathias has been ordered to stand trial “for the offences of attempted extortion and criminal conspiracy.”
Meanwhile, his five childhood friends, who allegedly demanded the sum of €13 million from Paul Pogba and were only identified by their first names, repeatedly intimidated Paul, as they claimed he failed to support them after he became a global football star.
They, however, have been accused of extortion and attempted extortion by using violence, abduction, and confinement to facilitate a crime or misdemeanour, as well as criminal conspiracy, according to the prosecutor’s office.
During the investigation, Paul confirmed he paid $100,000 to the group, which included his brother Mathias.
The 31-year-old former Manchester United midfielder also revealed to investigators that the alleged extortionists wanted to discredit him by claiming he bewitched Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe by asking a witch doctor to cast a spell on his France teammate, an allegation Paul emphatically denied.
Mathias, one of Pogba’s older twin brothers, also played professional football as a forward, spending most of his career with lower-tier clubs in Europe.
The ongoing saga began when he posted threats on social media, sharing some revelations alleging Paul of some wrongdoings.
Paul, however, has not enjoyed the best time in his football career in recent years, as earlier this year, the midfielder was banned for a maximum of four years by Italy’s anti-doping court after testing positive for testosterone shortly after a return to Serie A club Juventus.
