CNN
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Mathias Pogba, the brother of French World Cup-winning footballer Paul Pogba, has been remanded in custody by a Paris court as he investigates allegations of extortion, his lawyer confirmed to CNN.
According to Mathias’ lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, Mathias Pogba, 32, has been in prison since Saturday evening.
“We will challenge this decision and request his release,” Bouzrou told CNN on Sunday.
The Paris prosecutor’s office also confirmed to CNN on Sunday that Mathias Pogba had been remanded in custody.
Paul Pogba, who plays for Italy’s Serie A side Juventus, filed extortion charges against his brother last month, in a statement obtained by CNN via his legal team.
Paul Pogba’s statement came after his brother posted a series of videos on Instagram in English, French, Spanish and Italian in which he claimed he would make ‘big revelations’ about the conduct of his brother and Rafaela Pimenta , his agent.
Paul Pogba’s statement, which was signed by his lawyers, mother Yeo Moriba and Pimenta, reads: “Unfortunately, Mathias Pogba’s recent social media posts come as no surprise and follow recent other attempts over an extended period of time to try to extort Paul Pogba.
“The facts were reported to the Italian and French police a month ago and there will be no further comments on the ongoing investigations.”
Mathias had responded in August to previous investigation reports in a series of tweets which opened with “What I’ve been waiting for has happened: my little brother is finally starting to show his true self”.
In tweets, he denied the allegations made against him.
In August, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told CNN that an investigation had been opened that month “for organized gang extortion and attempted gang extortion.”
Paul Pogba, 29, returned to Juventus in July after six years at Manchester United in the English Premier League. He was part of the France team that won the World Cup in 2018.
In August, Italian police confirmed to CNN that they were not investigating the allegations.
