French prosecutors have confirmed that they are investigating claims by World Cup-winning footballer Paul Pogba that he has been targeted by organized gangs for millions of euros. An armed extortion gang, a witch doctor, and a scandal that has sent familiar whispers across France. The affair which is emanating from a family dispute has generated a lot of online conversations. The seemingly family feud came into the public on Saturday when Mathias Pogba -- Paul's older brother -- shared a video on TikTok. In a recorded statement in four different languages, Mathias threatened to share “explosive” revelations about his brother and Paul’s new agent Rafaela Pimenta. 

Mathias said: "[The public] deserves to know certain things in order to make an informed decision as to whether he [Paul Pogba] really deserves admiration, respect, a place in the French national team, and whether he is a person worthy of trust.” The "revelations" include the bizarre claim that Paul Pogba allegedly hired a "marabout", or an African witch doctor, to supposedly cast a spell on his teammate and French football star, Kylian Mbappe. Mathias Pogba in a subsequent Twitter thread repeated his unsubstantiated claims, stating that "everything is true and proven, the marabout is known." Paul Pogba has denied the allegations although French law does not recognize any offense of hiring a witch doctor. 

Paul Pogba has recently returned to Juventus after spending six seasons at Manchester United. Brazilian lawyer Rafaela Pimenta became Pogba's agent after the death of Mino Raiola. Mathias pogba who is three years older than Paul Pogba has spent most of his football career playing for lower-tier teams in Europe. Florentin, who is Mathias's twin is also a professional footballer and both of them have appeared regularly to watch their younger brother in action as the french national team plays. Paul is also one of the main donors to 48 H POUR, a charity established by Mathias to help provide drinking water and education for children in Guinea, where he and Florentin were born. It is unclear why the relationship between the brothers now seems to have deteriorated, with Paul's mother Yeo Moriba supporting her youngest son's denial. 

"My little brother who is finally starting to show his true colours," Mathias Pogba wrote on Twitter on Sunday, "It's not about the money." "You got me involved against my will, I almost died because of you, you left me in the hole and you want to play innocent, when all is said and done people will see that there is no one more cowardly, more treacherous, and more hypocritical than you on this earth." Mathias also posted another obscure and cryptic video with a voice-over containing violent language and a moody soundtrack on Tuesday night. 

Paul Pogba in a statement signed by his lawyers, his mother, and Pimenta said that his older's brother's rhetorics were "unfortunately not a surprise". "They come in addition to threats and extortion attempts by organized gangs against Paul Pogba. The relevant authorities in Italy and France have been notified a month ago and there will be no further comment in relation to the ongoing investigation." The World Cup-winning star claims that an organized gang, involving close friends and his brother Mathias, has been demanding €13 million from him.  The group is said to have repeatedly intimidated Paul Pogba in recent months, claiming that they had protected him for years and that he didn’t support them after he became an international footballer. 

Paul Pogba reportedly told investigators that he paid the group €100,000 in April after he was threatened by masked, armed men with assault rifles in a Paris apartment in March, while he was in France for national team matches. The French media have also reported that the same group made demands on the French football star at the Turin training center of his current club Juventus and at his previous team in Manchester. In one of these incidents, Paul said he recognized his older brother, Mathias. 

Paul Pogba is not the first famous footballer in the center of extortion from family and friends as there have been similar cases over the years before. In 2018, former Togo international footballer Emmanuel Adebayor told a Canal+documentary that he had been the victim of extortion by his family, saying that the matter had pushed him to the brink of suicide. "As soon as you become a footballer, as soon as you become famous, as soon as you start earning a little money, everything changes," Adebayor said. Following this week's matter, the French professional footballers' union (UNFP) is now trying to alert and remind players that they can become "prime targets" for racketeering "vultures" due to the vast amount of money in modern-day football. Mbappe, for his part, has not responded and has not commented on the "witch doctor" rumours.