‘The two guys pointed their weapons at me’

Paul Pogba has reportedly delivered a police statement, where he agreed to pay two armed men after being held at gunpoint during an alleged extortion attempt.

The incident is believed to have taken place on March 19 in the suburbs of Paris, and it has been reported that Pogba paid £85,000 to the extortionists, despite them demanding £11m from him.

Pogba’s brother, Mathias, has subsequently been charged for his alleged involvement in the extortion plot, and is currently being held in police custody. 

Four other men, who are thought to be his accomplices, have also been placed under formal investigation for extortion and criminal association. 

Describing what was going through his head when he came face-to-face with the armed men, Pogba told police via Le Monde: ‘I was scared. The two guys pointed their weapons at me. So, having been held up like that, under threat, I told them that I was going to pay.’

Pogba’s ordeal came to light last month when his brother Mathias threatened to share ‘explosive’ revelations about the former Manchester United star to the public.

The Juventus midfielder responded by revealing that he was unsurprised by Mathias’ threat, as he revealed he had been held hostage by men with assault rifles as part of a long-running blackmail plot that involved his brother.

Mathias denied the accusations made by his brother, labelling him ‘a coward, traitor and hypocrite’.

He also claimed Pogba had met with a witch doctor to cast a spell on his international team-mate Kylian Mbappe.

Pogba has refuted this claim, and Mbappe has since spoken out about the accusation.

‘Today I prefer to believe the word of my team-mate,’ he said earlier this month.

‘It is his word against the word of his brother, I am going to believe my team-mate.’

Reports in France have now claimed that Pogba is under police protection in Italy following the alleged extortion attempt.

The 29-year-old is currently sidelined after having knee surgery, and is aiming to return in time for the World Cup which gets underway in November in Qatar.