Table of Contents
- Paul Pogba brother Mathias Pogba has been sentenced to three years in prison by a court in Paris
- Mathias Pogba was among six individuals who planned the kidnapping and extortion of the 2018 World Cup winner
Paul Pogba brother Mathias Pogba has been sentenced to three years in prison (two of which are suspended) by a court in Paris, France.
Mathias was found guilty in an extortion and kidnapping case involving his younger brother Paul, who last played for Serie A giants Juventus. The case took place without the presence of Paul, who has himself been having a difficult period since leaving Manchester United as a free agent in the summer of 2022.
According to The Guardian tabloid, Mathias had already spent time behind bars before the recent sentencing and will serve the remainder of his one-year jail term under house arrest. The 34-year-old retired footballer was detained in September 2022 but was released in December. He will wear an electronic magnet during that period and will also pay a fine of €20,000 (£16,500) for the crimes he committed.
Mathias Pogba was sentenced to three years in prison. Photo/ Goal.com.
Mathias Pogba previously played for lower-tier teams such as Quimper, Pescara, Partick Thistle, Wrexham, Tours, Crewe Alexandra, Tabor Sezana and Crawley Town. He last played for Championnat National 3 club Belfort in France, and left in 2022. He has been capped by Guinea at international level.
What Did Paul Pogba Brother Do?
Mathias Pogba was among six individuals who planned the kidnapping and extortion of the 2018 World Cup winner (with the France national team). The former Manchester United man was held at gunpoint in 2022, shortly after leaving the English Premier League club, and ordered to cough €13 million (£10.8 million).
The five others were Paul’s childhood friends and felt he should have supported them after achieving success as a footballer at the top level.
Paul filed a complaint with Turin prosecutors in July 2022 after the incident. French prosecutors then took over the case two months later and detained Mathias. During investigations, Paul told police that he paid a whopping €100,000 to the organized group, which included his brother.
The Parisian court which sentenced Paul Pogba brother to three years in prison found that the footballer suffered economic losses of €197,000. On top of that, he also suffered moral losses of €50,000. The organized gang, excluding Mathias, were ordered to pay the France international the amount he lost.
Roushdane K, who is suspected to be the mastermind of the blackmail, was sentenced to eight years in prison. The other four were handed prison sentences as follows: Adama C five years, Mamadou M five years, 12 months suspended, Boubacar C four years, two suspended, and Machikour K four years, three suspended.
Mathias Pogba lawyer, Mbeko Tabula, said the three-year sentence handed to his client is too harsh and he thinks they will appeal.
The case caught the attention of football fans worldwide after Mathias posted threats on social media to expose secrets about his brother, French captain Kylian Mbappe and Paul’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta. He would later post a collection of videos with allegations about Paul and urged his followers not to be be “fooled by manipulation”.
When Will Paul Pogba Return To Football?
Paul Pogba last played professional football on September 3, 2023, as Juventus beat Empoli 2-0. The talented midfielder was provisionally banned from football that same month by Italy’s anti-doping organisation, NADO Italia, after testing positive for the banned substance DHEA.
Paul Pogba. Photo/ Juventus.com.
Paul was initially supposed to stay out of action for four years, as per the ban, but had the sentence reduced to 18 months at the start of October 2024 after winning an appeal case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The 31-year-old midfielder, who has made 91 appearances for the France national team, is allowed to resume training in January 2025 but has to wait until March to play professional football. He is currently a free agent after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with Juventus.
Pogba returned to his boyhood club Juventus in the summer of 2022 after exiting Manchester United. During his second spell in Italy, he struggled with injuries and played on twelve matches.
