Juventus star Paul Pogba’s elder brother, Mathias, can be charged on Saturday in an extortion case against the French international, AFP has reported. The 32-year-old Mathias had earlier published a video on Instagram in which he accused his brother of practising black magic against his France teammate, Kylian Mbappe.

After the news was released, Mbappe took the side of his teammate. In an interview before the Champions League match between PSG and Juventus, the star forward said, “As of today, I prefer to trust the word of a teammate. He called me, he gave me his version of the story and as of today, it is his word against his brother’s word.”

Mathias had himself surrendered to the police in Paris and was taken into custody. His lawyer had, however, released a statement in order “to state emphatically that he is a complete stranger to any extortion attempt against his brother, Paul Pogba.”

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Four other individuals have been accused in the case besides Mathias. The five of them had attempted to extort money from the former Manchester United star. In the video Mathias posted, he had stated that he would be revealing more details about Pogba to the public. The World Cup winner then released a statement saying that he had been approached for money by certain individuals, among whom there were “childhood friends and two hooded men”. He also alleged that these men were armed with assault rifles.

Pogba’s statement also read, “The recent declarations of Mathias Pogba on social media are unfortunately not a surprise. They are coming after threats and attempts of extortion by an organised gang against Paul Pogba.” 

Mathias, just like his brother, has also been a football player. Unlike his more successful brother, Mathias has played in low-tiered clubs in England and Spain. The other Pogba brother, Florentin, has plied his trade in French and American clubs, and is currently signed with the Indian Super League side, ATK Mohun Bagan.