Paul Pogba’s brother in custody in alleged extortion case

French officials say soccer star Paul Pogba’s brother is in police custody along with four other people as part of an extortion investigation

Paul Pogba’s brother was in police custody on Wednesday according to French officials amid an ongoing investigation into alleged efforts to extort millions of euros from the France and Juventus midfielder.

French officials state Matthias Pogba is among five people in police custody as part of the investigation, which has rocked French football in recent weeks in the run-up to their World Cup defence in Qatar in November.

Pogba’s brother, a former Guinea international with spells at Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and Partick Thistle, was subsequently held for questioning on Wednesday after arriving to speak to police about the probe, according to an official close to the investigation.

The official was not authorized to be publicly named discussing the ongoing investigation.

Mathias Pogba, who has denied taking part in extortion attempts against his brother, recorded a video promising “great revelations” about the former Manchester United player.

But the France star signed a statement in August, alongside his mother Yeo Moriba and Mr Pimenta, claiming the videos “are unfortunately no surprise”.

Mathias Pogba’s lawyer Richard Arbib said in a statement last week that his client wants “more than anything else” to ease the situation with his brother.

The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation last month into allegations that Paul Pogba — who scored one of France's goals in the 2018 World Cup final — was the target of an extortion plot by his brother and childhood friends demanding 13 million euros ($13 million) from him.

Paul Pogba and his brother Mathias Pogba (AFP via Getty Images)

The case became public after Mathias Pogba threatened to share “explosive revelations” about his brother and France star Kylian Mbappe.

Mathias Pogba had a modest soccer career as a forward with lower-tier teams in England and other European countries.