adminPARIS. – Mathias Pogba, the brother of football star Paul Pogba, is being temporarily detained and questioned by police, a source close to the investigation said yesterday.
The Juventus midfielder said he was the target of extortion attempts and threats.
Mathias presented himself in the ‘early afternoon to investigators and was placed in police custody,’ said one of the legal sources, who asked not to be named.
The formal probe follows preliminary investigations and will look into allegations of blackmail by an armed gang, kidnapping and membership of a criminal conspiracy.
Three other people are also in custody, the source said.
Temporary detention in France usually ends after 24 hours.
Among the four suspects detained in total in the probe, one was taken into custody on Tuesday and three were detained yesterday, a judicial source added.
Paul Pogba – the former Manchester United star who re-joined Juventus in the summer – has claimed his brother and ‘childhood friends’ were part of a group who targeted him at the club’s training centre in Turin.
Franceinfo radio claimed that the group, armed with MI6 assault rifles, demanded £11million (€13m) from the French midfielder for ‘protection services’ stretching back 13 years, including the time he spent in Manchester when he played for Manchester United. – Mailonline
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter