A Paris court has convicted Mathias Pogba, the elder brother of French football star Paul Pogba, and five others for attempting to extort the World Cup winner. Mathias Pogba received a three-year sentence, with two years suspended, for organized extortion and attempted extortion. Instead of jail time, he will wear an electronic bracelet for a year.
The case stemmed from events in March 2022, when Paul Pogba alleged he was targeted by extortion attempts and had paid €100,000 ($104,000) to individuals who threatened him. Among the other defendants, who included childhood friends of the Pogbas, sentences ranged from three to eight years in prison.
Mathias Pogba, 34, who has played for Guinea and various lower-division European clubs, has denied the allegations. His lawyer, Mbeko Tabula, announced plans to appeal the ruling, maintaining that Mathias was coerced and pressured into actions he would not have otherwise committed. “He says he was manipulated and never intended harm toward his brother,” Tabula said.
Paul Pogba, 31, a former Manchester United and Juventus player, is currently serving a doping ban until March after testing positive for the banned substance DHEA, known to boost testosterone levels. This development came as his contract with Juventus was mutually terminated in November 2024.
The midfielder, a 2018 World Cup winner with France, has faced a challenging few years. Injuries prevented him from participating in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and his international career has been on hold since then. Pogba has expressed a desire to revive his career once his ban concludes.
Despite the legal and professional challenges, Paul Pogba’s representatives have not commented on the recent ruling.
