Paul Pogba was allegedly a victim of kidnapping and extortion attempts and one of his closest friends reportedly told French investigators that the Juventus midfielder ‘wanted to disappear and quit football’
The France international allegedly faced an organised gang in March when he returned to his hometown, Lagny-sur-Marne, during the international break.
He told investigators that he was dragged into an apartment where he was accused of not having helped his friends financially since becoming a football star.
The gang members are said to be childhood friends of the France international and allegedly demanded €13m from him, stealing €300,000 and a credit card.
Investigators heard Boubacar Camara, one of Pogba’s closest friends last month, and the French paper Journal Du Dimanche reports part of his interrogation.
Camara lived in Turin with Pogba during the midfielder’s first season in Turin in 2012, but then returned to France because his son was born.
The day after the alleged kidnapping, he spoke to a shocked Pogba.
“He was sitting on a bed in a Paris hotel. He was crying and struggled to talk,” Camara told investigators, according to the report.
“He told me that a group of hooded people had kidnapped him, demanding €13m. He confessed that he wanted to disappear and no longer play football. He was afraid for his family. Now he trusts nobody, but I am innocent, a victim like him.”
Reports in France have claimed that Pogba is under Police protection in Turin following threats and extortion attempts in a case that also involves his brother Mathias who has been placed in custody in France.