Pogba claimed the blackmail by his legal team in a statement obtained by CNN on Monday.
A spokesman for prosecutors told CNN an investigation was launched earlier this month. “I can confirm that on August 3, 2022, an investigation was launched specifically into allegations of extortion in an organized gang and attempted extortion in an organized gang,” the statement said.
“The investigation was transferred to OCLCO,” the prosecutor continued. The OCLCO is the department of the French criminal police responsible for investigating organized crime.
Pogba’s statement came after his brother Mathias Pogba posted a series of videos on Instagram in English, French, Spanish and Italian in which he claimed he was making “great revelations” about the behavior of his brother and his agent Rafaela Pimenta.
In his Saturday video, Mathias said: “The French, Italian and English publics… and even more so the French national team and the Juventus team, my brother’s team-mates and his sponsors deserve to know certain things in order to be able to make an informed decision about him.” deserves the admiration, respect and love of the public, whether he deserves his place in the France national team and the honor of playing in a World Cup… whether he is a trustworthy person that every player would like to have by his side And finally , is it worthy of being taken as a representative model by the youth and of course the big brands?”
Paul Pogba’s statement, signed by his lawyers, his mother Yeo Moriba and Pimenta, read: “Unfortunately, Mathias Pogba’s recent social media posts come as no surprise and follow other attempts over a longer period of time, Paul to blackmail Pogba.
“The facts were reported to the Italian and French police a month ago and there will be no further comment on the ongoing investigation.”
CNN reached out to Mathias Pogba for further comments, but he didn’t immediately respond.
Paul Pogba, 29, returned to Italy’s Serie A side Juventus in July after six years with Manchester United in the English Premier League. Juventus declined to comment.
Italian police confirmed to CNN that they are not investigating the claims.
Pogba was a member of France’s World Cup team in 2018.