I didn’t ask witch doctor to charm Mbappe, my brother is involved – Pogba speaks on blackmail
Published on August 28, 2022 By Ifreke Inyang
Juventus midfielder, Paul Pogba, informed police investigators that his brother, Mathias, is part of a concerted effort to blackmail him for €13m, according to France Info.
On Saturday night, Mathias in a clip posted on Twitter, claimed he was about to expose secrets about his brother, Kylian Mbappé and Rafaela Pimenta.
However, on Sunday, Paul Pogba’s camp released a statement confirming that French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the possible “attempted blackmail by an organised gang.”
During various interviews with the authorities, Paul Pogba is understood to have said that he was trapped by childhood friends and two hooded men armed with assault rifles during an incident in Paris.
A gang that demanded €13m from him, of which his brother Mathias Pogba would be a part. The 2018 world champion claims to be the victim of threats and attempted extortion from his older brother and childhood friends.
After this episode, the former Manchester United star approached his club’s lawyers who decided to notify the police.
During his police interviews, Paul Pogba insisted he never hesitated to help his childhood friends financially when they were in need. Until last January, when he kicked a friend out of his home in Manchester, after he used his credit card to steal €200,000 from him.
It is understood Mbappé is linked to the saga, because Paul Pogba claimed his blackmailers wanted to put further pressure on him to pay up by spreading false messages including that he would have asked a witch doctor from inside his family circle to cast a spell on Kylian Mbappé, which the player denied to be true.
Football star Paul Pogba tells French police he was held hostage by 'gang armed with ASSAULT RIFLES' who demanded £11million as part of long-running blackmail plot 'organised by his brother and friends'
• Paul Pogba is alleged to have told investigators that a gang targeted him with rifles and demanded £11m • Judicial sources confirmed an investigation for 'attempted extortion in an organised gang' has been opened • His brother ex-footballer Mathias, pledged to expose Paul on Saturday with 'explosive' revelations • But the lawyer for his brother, 29, who has won the World Cup with France, has dismissed these claims
Football star Paul Pogba has reportedly told French authorities about an alleged plot to blackmail him by a gang that dragged him to a Paris apartment in March and demanded £11m as they threatened him with assault rifles.
The 29-year-old, who has won the World Cup with France, said the men - organised by his own brother Mathias - wanted the money for 'protection services' stretching back 13 years and also followed him to Manchester.
The two armed men told Pogba that they 'protected him discreetly' during a period that spanned more than a decade, including during two spells at Manchester United, the last of which ended earlier this year.
Judicial sources in Paris confirmed on Sunday that an investigation for 'attempted extortion in an organised gang' has been opened.
On Sunday night a source close to the case told the Franceinfo news outlet that Pogba’s ‘big brother and childhood friends’ are all named as suspects.
It come after his brother Mathias, who had spells in English football at Wrexham, Crewe and Crawley Town, promised to reveal 'explosive' information about his better-known sibling in a bizarre video published on Twitter, shortly after joining the platform, on Saturday night.
But last night, Mathias denied the claims in a furious Twitter outburst. He wrote: 'Paul, you really wanted to shut me up completely to lie and send me to prison, I suspected it now it's true, my version of the facts happens and unlike you.'
Last night, a judicial source said: 'Investigators from the Central Office of Judicial Police Combating Organised Crime that he was trapped by childhood friends, and two hooded men armed with assault rifles.'
Pogba said the gang wanted €13m – the equivalent of £11m – and had been threatening him for four months.
Acts of intimidation were carried out in Manchester in April, and later around the Italian city of Turin, where Pogba currently plays for Juventus.
The gang is also said to have taken Pogba to flat in the Paris suburb of Lagny-sur-Marne, where Pogba grew up, at the end of March.
There, the gang members accused Pogba of not helping them financially since he became a professional player.
During police interviews, Paul Pogba said he had always been close to his childhood friends and helped them out financially when he could.
But in January he kicked one out his house in Manchester after discovering that the unidentified man had used Pogba's credit card to steal €200,000 – the equivalent of £170,000.
Paul Pogba was born and raised in Lagny-sur-Marne along with two brothers – Mathias and Florentin, both of whom also play football professionally.
Mathias took to social media this weekend to promise 'explosive revelations' about his brother.
'The French, English, Italian and Spanish public - in other words, the whole world - as well as my brother's fans, and even more so the French team and Juventus, my brother's team-mates and his sponsors deserve to know certain things,' he said.
'In order to make an informed decision if he deserves the admiration, respect and love of the public.
'If he deserves his place in the French team and the honour of playing in the World Cup. If he deserves to be a starter at Juventus.
'If he is a trustworthy person, that any player deserves to have at his side.'
Pogba also addressed his brother's agent and lawyer, Rafaela Pimenta. Pimenta has taken over the handling of Paul Pogba's career following the death of his former agent, Mino Raiola, in April.
Mathias Pogba has questioned her ability to hold the position.
He stated that he would let fans and players know about 'her integrity, her professionalism... her loyalty' so that they could decide whether she 'deserves to represent them.'
Pogba concluded his video by referencing Kylian Mbappe, declaring he has 'important things' to say about the 23-year-old.
'I will tell you very important things about him and there will be elements and many testimonies to confirm my words,' Pogba said of Mbappe. 'Everything could be explosive and make a lot of noise.'
Paul Pogba's lawyers, Yeo Moriba - who is also his mother - and Pimenta have since responded to Mathias's threats.
'Mathias Pogba's recent statements on social networks are unfortunately not a surprise,' they said. 'They are in addition to threats and organised extortion attempts against Paul Pogba.'
According to two sources close to the Pogba family contacted by AFP, large sums of money are being demanded from Paul Pogba if he wants to avoid the dissemination of the allegedly compromising videos.
Pogba also explained to investigators that his blackmailers wanted to discredit him by claiming he asked a marabout, a holy man, to cast a spell on the Paris Saint-Germain and France star, Mbappe, which Pogba denies.
Later this evening, Mathias also took to Twitter after the reports in French media to take aim at his brother and say: 'My little brother is finally starting to show his true face.'
Paul Pogba won the World Cup with France in 2018, returned to Juventus on a free transfer this summer after six years at Manchester United, and is currently sidelined with a knee injury.
He is expected to return to action next month. Pogba is married to the Bolivian model, Maria Zulay Salaues, and they have two children together.
Paul Pogba: Juventus midfielder says he is target of organised gang
28 August 202228 August 2022. European Football
Paul Pogba says he has been the target of extortion and threats from an organised gang.
The Juventus and France midfielder issued a statement through his lawyers on Sunday saying the matter had been reported to the authorities.
News agency AFP, citing a source, said French police had opened an investigation.
Earlier, Pogba's brother Mathias posted videos online promising to publish "great revelations" about the player.
Mathias Pogba said the information was likely to be "explosive", without giving further details.
"They are in addition to threats and extortion attempts by an organised gang against Paul Pogba," read the statement.
"The competent bodies in Italy and France were informed a month ago and there will be no further comments in relation to the ongoing investigation."
A World Cup winner with France in 2018, Pogba moved to Juventus on a free transfer this summer after leaving Manchester United.
In his videos, Matthias Pogba said the "whole world, as well as my brother's fans, and even more so the French team and Juventus, my brother's team-mates and his sponsors deserve to know certain things".
He said the revelations would also involve Pogba's agent, Rafaela Pimenta.
Paul Pogba has said he has been the target of extortion and threats from an organised gang.
The Juventus and France midfielder issued a statement signed by his lawyers, his mother, Yeo Moriba, and his agent, Rafaela Pimenta. The news agency AFP said French police had opened an investigation, citing a source close to the case.
The statement came after Pogba’s brother Mathias posted a video online in four languages promising “great revelations” about the World Cup winner and Pimenta.
The statement said the videos were “unfortunately no surprise” and added: “They are in addition to threats and extortion attempts by an organised gang against Paul Pogba. The competent bodies in Italy and France were informed a month ago and there will be no further comments in relation to the ongoing investigation.”
Mathias Pogba said he believed “the French, Italian and English public, my brother’s fans, and even more the French national team, the Juventus team, my brother’s teammates and his sponsors deserve to know certain things”.
This Twitter account was created this month and it posted the video. It is not certain whether it is actually Mathias Pogba or an impostor, but it has gained over thirty thousand followers.
There was a lot of controversy between 2013 and 2016 because pictures and videos of some people in police uniform doing certain things that policemen were not supposed to do, went viral on social media. I realised that those people were SPY policemen, but many people did not know this and so they insulted the Police Force.
The Inspector General of Police therefore banned SPY policemen from wearing police uniforms and he announced that a special uniform would be designed for them. A Nairaland thread about the new uniforms got to the home page in 2016 and a lot of people wrote that the police was stupid because spies do not wear uniforms.
I had to explain that these were not spies, they were supernumerary policemen. I explained that sometimes when there were not enough policemen, the police could deputise civilians and this enables them to perform some police functions and assist the Police Force. I explained that the word supernumerary meant extra or excess number.
I said that in Nigeria there are some organisations that need extra police services. These organisations include universities, banks, some government agencies, oil companies, etc. These organisations could apply to the police to train some of their employees as supernumerary policemen. These employees usually include security guards and drivers. They attend a special school that has been set up by the police (in Ikeja) and they are trained by policemen.
I can't remember all the rules, but they are not allowed to carry out certain police function, while they can assist the police in other functions. Most of their duties are carried out within the premises of the organisation that they work for, but they can also assist the police outside that organisation.
Since the 2013-2016 controversies, SPY policemen have been banned from wearing regular police uniforms. They must wear the SPY police uniform and those from the rank or ASP above must not wear any uniform at all.
Two women SPY police officers recently posted videos of themselves partying, riding luxury yachts, helicopters and travelling all over Dubai. Among the pictures and videos that they posted are pictures and videos of themselves wearing regular police uniforms and one of them was wearing the uniform of an ASP. As you can expect, lots of people have insulted the police because of those pictures and videos.
The IGP subsequently suspended them, but some people are claiming that the women did nothing wrong and that spies sometimes have to live lavish lives in order to blend in.
Supernumerary policemen
naptu2: Many police forces around the world have auxiliary policemen (civilians who have been deputised/appointed to perform some police tasks). These auxiliary policemen are kind of like the reserve force of the police.
Organisations in Nigeria such as banks, oil companies, universities, etc that need police protection for their facilities/workers and organisations that want their security guards and drivers to have some police skills can apply to the Inspector General of Police or the Commissioner of police.
The organisations would nominate their staff and also state the nature of the facility/person that is to be protected and why they want police protection. The nominated employees would then undergo a 3 months course at the Police Training School, Ikeja (paid for by their organisation).
Supernumerary policemen are paid by their organisation and they are enrolled in the supernumerary police programme from month to month. They would need to give a month's notice before resigning from the supernumerary police programme.
The officers have the powers, privileges and immunities of a police officer within the area he is appointed. They are thus permitted to wear police uniforms.
What I read this morning/afternoon reminded me of a very funny thread that was created a few years ago.
The Inspector General of Police announced that a separate uniform was going to be designed for SPY policemen, in order to reduce the problem of mistaken identity. Some Nairalanders went crazy when they saw the thread.
"What is wrong with this country? How can spies have uniforms? Wouldn't it be easy for people to identify them if they wore uniforms?" were the comments all the way through the thread. I had to explain that SPY policemen are supernumerary policemen and I also explained what that meant.
It was announced today that the IGP has banned the use of SPY license plates and ordered policemen to retrieve all such license plates that are being used. He said that civilians that use the SPY plates should not be arrested, but the plates should be retrieved, but policemen and other security agents that use SPY plates should be arrested.
One guy that responded to the tweet claimed that SPY meant "Special Protection, but I don't know what the Y is for".
AlphaTaikun: Awesome post @naptu2. You've done it again.
That's an insightful piece on the man from Delta State, Nduka "the Duke" like we used to call him for short.
His Wimbledon participation outrightly stimulated more interest in lawn tennis, just like Hakeem "the Dream" Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets did for the promotion of basketball in Nigeria and the world from the 1980s.
I was just thinking of some of the sports legends we had back in the 1980s a few days ago and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles that was beamed live to us on NTA with that signature theme song of the 1984 Olympics ringing in my ears.
Ajayi Agbebakun, the jerry curled Innocent Egbunike, Felix Konyegwachi in boxing and more were at the event.
The Commonwealth medalist from the 1960s, Modupe Osikoya (who has a street named after her next to the Bar beach on Victoria Island, Lagos) is still alive and has been based on the West Coast of the U.S. for years with her daughter. Manny Onumonu the broadcast veteran interviewed her about 2 years ago.
A truly nostalgic thread!
Cc: Sukkot will like this thread. Oya pull over!
Thank you.
I've created lots of threads about that Los Angeles '84 team, but the anti-spam bot kept attacking my thread about the weightlifters.
There have been rumours that the agency is rejecting adverts of some political parties and there is an audio message that is circulating on Twitter that makes the same claim.
LASAA @lasaaonline
Notice to the Public on Circulating Audio Message
Following our review of the audio in circulation which sounded staged, ordinarily, LASAA will not respond to such petty conversation but it is important to reassure our stakeholders and members of the general public that we are an institution governed by rules and professional standards of practice.
While we understand this is a political season and Fifth Columnist will attempt to portray us in a bad light for their own personal gain, we will not rest on our oars to speak the truth always and discharge our functions with integrity and absolute respect for statutory laws and ethics.
We wish to vehemently debunk the contents of the audio recording against our Agency that is in circulation as a blatant lie and a staged conversation.
As citizens, we must continue to act responsibly and disassociate ourselves from elements disguising as purveyors of truth on social media platforms.
It is important to remind the general public that, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) is the body saddled with the responsibility to regulate advertising contents, and, as a result can stop any unethical, obscene advertisement, campaign, politics and so on from being displayed, not LASAA.
Our Agency does not interfere in the business of outdoor advertising agencies in any way. It is, therefore, a common practice in the industry that any contract to display political campaigns is at the discretion of the outdoor advertisement agency that owns the billboard structure and the advertiser.
For the purpose of clarity, this is the season for more sales within the industry and it is the income made by the owners, their financial obligation to LASAA will be settled.
We only issue permit on regulated billboard structures and not the advertisements displayed on them. Anyone with proof to show that we gave such instruction in the audio should bring it to our attention immediately.
Members of the public are advised to kindly, disregard the audio in circulation and be watchful of fake news.
This is Nduka Odizor playing in a charity match in Italy in 1995. The match was organised to raise money for children in Ethiopia. Because of fear of the anti-spam bot, I will not post the names of the other stars in the video.
The Lagos Open was a big tournament back in the day and well, you can see the names of some of the people that played in the final. Odizor won it in 1985 and 1986 and he was the runner up in 1987.
I also remember that he won the Ogbe Hard Court tournament, but I can't remember what year.
I spent many Saturday afternoons watching these tournaments on the NTA in the 1980s.
By Neil Amdur, Special To the New York Times June 21, 1983
Guillermo Vilas and Jose-Luis Clerc, missing from last year's Wimbledon tennis championships because of Argentina's war with Britain over the Falkland Islands, were eliminated on the tournament's opening day today.
A 24-year-old Nigerian, Nduka Odizor, playing his first centercourt match ever in a Grand Slam event, saved a match point from two sets down in a third-set tiebreaker and then outlasted the fourthseeded Vilas in a 4-hour-7-minute marathon. The scores were 3-6, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Odizor's amazing saga began as a promising 15-year-old player in Lagos. Discovered by an American college professor, he was encouraged to continue his education in the United States, was graduated with a degree in marketing from the University of Houston in 1981 and is now ranked 82d on the men's computer rankings.
''At first before I went out on center court, I thought I'd be very nervous,'' said the lanky Odizor, whose 14 aces, crisp first volleys and aggressive service returns dominated Vilas in the last two sets. ''Amazingly, I was not.'' Clerc Loses to Panatta
Two other seeded players, Clerc, No. 7, and Steve Denton, No. 9, joined Vilas as opening-day casualties. The 24-year-old Clerc, whose normally sound game has collapsed in a wave of first-round losses since March, appeared with a Bjorn Borg-like beard, but it could not hide his deficiencies during a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 setback to Claudio Panatta of Italy.
Denton, one of the game's hardest hitters, succumbed in fading light to Chris Lewis of New Zealand in a five-setter, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, that did not conclude until 9:11 P.M. Lewis is only 91st on the men's computer, but he is known as a dangerous ''floater'' in a draw and had lost a close match (6-4, 7-6) to Denton at Queen's Club only two weeks ago.
The most apparent benefactor in the defeats of Vilas, Clerc and Denton may have been the top-seeded Jimmy Connors, the defending singles champion, who saw three seeded rivals cleared from his half of the draw. The 30-year-old Connors handled Eddie Edwards, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3, in the opening match on the center court, and said afterward, ''I can serve better, which I will do.''
Asked whether some of Edwards's slow-ball tactics had effectively shaken Connors's forehand and left him struggling at 1-4 in the second set, Connors annoyingly snapped, ''It really works, doesn't it?'' McEnroe Wins in 3 Sets
The pressures were different for John McEnroe and Billie Jean King, but each survived their opening-round matches. A handful of foot faults kept McEnroe and his southpaw opponent, Ben Testerman, unsettled on the No.1 court before McEnroe's natural talent prevailed, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.
''I haven't been called for one foot fault in Europe,'' said McEnroe, who was called for four today and next faces Florin Segarceanu of Rumania. ''It's really strange. I'll have to have someone look at it in practice tomorrow. Maybe I was.''
Mrs. King, a semifinalist here last year, thought all the signs were positive for her 21st Wimbledon singles. Her brother Randy Moffitt's baseball team, the Blue Jays, were winning; Sally Ride, the astronaut and a friend, was having a ''great ride,'' and today's warm, sunny weather was another psychological plus.
But Mrs. King saw first-set leads of 3-0 and 5-3 diminish - ''I felt I was struggling'' - until her experience and serve-and-volley skills won, 7-5, 6-3, over Elisabeth Sayers, a 20-year-old Australian.
''For me to get through a first round is a miracle,'' said the 39-year-old six-time Wimbledon champion. In contrast to last year's rain-plagued Wimbledon, today's weather lifted spirits. Even a threatened nationwide television blackout of the tournament was put on hold by union technicians, and few among the 26,000 spectators at the All England Lawn Tennis Club complained about the price increase in strawberries and cream from $1.50 to $2.20. An Aggressive Game
Odizor's breakthrough, in only his second Wimbledon, was remarkable, despite Vilas's preoccupation with his possible one-year suspension for purportedly acccepting appearance money,
Soft-spoken and self-effacing, Odizor can still recall showing up with a board for a racquet at a 1970 United States State Department clinic in Lagos, given by Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith. However, it was not until Dr. Robert Wren, a visiting psychology professor from the University of Houston, recognized Odzior's potential and offered to pay for his final year of high school at a private school in Houston that his game improved.
Blessed with an aggressive, at times explosive serve-and-volley game, Odizor reached the semifinals in singles and doubles at the 1981 national collegiate championships. He lost to Mats Wilander in the second round here last year and seemed headed for defeat when Vilas led, 3-0, and then 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker.
But instead of playing through match point from the backcourt, Vilas belately tried to attack in the rally from far behind the baseline. Odizor countered with a crisp forehand passing shot and won the tiebreaker, 9-7.
''I don't even remember how I won the point,'' he later said.
You have got to watch this video. This is Nduka Odizor vs John McEnroe at the 1985 Australian Open. Odizor surprises McEnroe and scores an ace by serving an underarm dropshot.
Today is Nigerian tennis legend, Nduka Odizor's 64th birthday.
Nduka "The Duke" Odizor is a Nigerian tennis legend. He is the last Nigerian to get to (and beyond) the second round of any grandslam tournament. He is also the only Nigerian to play on centre court at Wimbledon.
Nduka Odizor grew up in Maroko, a large slum that was near Victoria Island in Lagos. He attended Edward Blydon Memorial Primary School at Okesuna on Lagos Island. He sometimes worked as a ball boy at Ikoyi Club and Lagos Lawn Tennis Club. It was there that his interest in tennis grew. He once said that he was so poor, but he loved tennis so much, that he was faced with a decision of whether he should buy akara to eat (because he was very hungry) or go to the National Stadium by bus to watch tennis and he chose trek from Lagos Lawn Tennis Club to the stadium because he was going to be there all day and so he also had to eat.
He attended the famous New Era secondary school in Benin City. Governor Samuel Ogbemudia of the Mid-West State established the school as a centre of excellence for sportsmen and women, so that they can get an education and play sports, but Odizor said that the system broke down after Ogbemudia left office and the school began admitting "anybody". Odizor played at the National Sports Festival and for the Nigerian National Team while he was still a teenager.
I had a neighbour who was a Nigerian tennis legend in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also very close to the Americans. This was during the Cold War when the Americans and Russians were competing for influence around the world. In the 1970s (after he had retired), my neighbour told the Americans that tennis was getting very popular in Nigerian and that they could create a good feeling towards Americans if they invested in Nigerian tennis. (This was revealed in the diplomatic papers that were released by Wikileaks).
The US Embassy got some American tennis players to participate at the Ogbe Hard Court tournamen (at the Ogbe Stadium in Benin). They got Pepsi/7up to sponsor the tournament. They also held many tennis clinics in Nigeria.
A visiting American professor called Dr Robert Wren saw Nduka Odizor playing at one of the USAID tennis clinics in the 1970s. He offered to sponsor Odizor's education in the United States. Odizor finished his secondary school education at St Thomas High School, Houston. He also attended the University of Houston, where he graduated with a degree in Business Marketing and Finance in 1981.
Wimbledon
Nduka "The Duke of Wimbledon" Odizor played at Wimbledon for the very first time in 1975. He played in the junior tournament on that occasion. He played in the senior tournament in 1982 and got to the second round before he was beaten by Swedish legend, Mats Wilander. However, it was his appearance at Wimbledon in 1983 that made waves.
Odizor got to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1983 and he was just one victory away from the quarter-final when he was beaten by Chris Lewis of New Zealand.
Racism
Odizor said that he was given police protection by Scotland Yard when he played at Wimbledon because skin heads and other racist groups sent death threats to him. He said that police officers had to follow him where ever he went.
He also said that he suffered from racism many times on the tour. Some people would not want to share locker rooms with him, some wouldn't want to practice with him and some wouldn't want to play doubles with him.
He said that the problem of racism did not only exist abroad. He said that some Nigerians in Nigeria were also affected by it. For example, he said that he was very angry when he watched a Nigerian tennis star lose to an Ethiopian at the All Africa Games in Lagos in 1973. He said that he believed that even he, as a kid, could have beaten the Ethiopian and that the problem was that the Nigerian believed that the Ethiopian was better simply because of his lighter skin.
Australian Open
Odizor also got to the third round of the Australian Open in 1985, where he lost to American legend, John McEnroe. This match has gone into tennis history books because of a little trick that Odizor played. He surprised McEnroe by serving a underarm drop shot that earned him an ace. McEnroe was so surprised that he did not even move.
US Open
Odizor also got to the third round of the US Open on two occasions, 1985 and 1987.
He was not as succesful in the French Open, where he lost in the first round in 1986.
Titles
Nduka Odizor won singles titles in Lagos, Taiwan and Benin. He also won doubles titles in Monterrey (Mexico), Dallas, Tokyo and Sydney. He won 28 titles overall, including in Taipei, Lagos, Thessaloniki, Monterey, Tokyo, Forest hills in New York City, Benin City, etc.
His highest singles ranking was number 52 in the world in 1984 and number 20 in the doubles.
Nigerian National Team
He was part of Nigeria's Davis Cup team that played in the Euro-Africa Zone Group 1 (just below the World Group. We got to the quarter final of that group in 1988 and 1989). He also represented Nigeria at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
After retirement
He established the DOIT Foundation after retiring and he has returned to Nigeria many times to run tennis clinics and to teach Nigerian children how to play the game.
Sports › Re: Paul Pogba Accuses His Brother Of Blackmail, Brother Promises Revelations by naptu2(op): 5:49am On Aug 29, 2022*. Modified: 6:19am On Aug 29, 2022
I remember that my mum didn't like him at all because he represented Great Britain.
