Paul Pogba's brother detained over alleged extortion, says lawyer

By Aimee Lewis and Xiaofei Xu, CNN

Updated 0655 GMT (1455 HKT) September 19, 2022

Paul Pogba © celebrates victory with mother Yeo and brother Mathias during the 2018 FIFA World Cup final.

(CNN)Mathias Pogba, the brother of France's World Cup-winning footballer Paul Pogba, has been put under temporary detention by a Paris court as it investigates allegations of extortion, his lawyer has confirmed to CNN.

According to Mathias' lawyer Yassine Bouzrou, Mathias Pogba, 32, has been in prison since Saturday night. «We will challenge this decision and ask for him to be released,» Bouzrou told CNN on Sunday. The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office also confirmed to CNN on Sunday that Mathias Pogba has been placed in temporary detention. Pogba's claims of extortion and threats being investigated by French policePaul Pogba, who plays for Italy's Serie A side Juventus, made a claim of extortion against his brother last month, in astatement obtained by CNN via his legal team. Read MorePaul Pogba's statement came after his brother had released a series of videos on Instagram in English, French, Spanish and Italian in which he claimed that he would make «great revelations» about the conduct of his brother and Rafaela Pimenta, his agent. Paul Pogba's statement, which was signed by his lawyers, his mother Yeo Moriba and Pimenta, read: «Unfortunately, Mathias Pogba's recent social media posts are not a surprise and follow other attempts over a prolonged period to seek to extort Paul Pogba. »The facts have been reported to Italian and French police a month ago and there will be no further comments on current investigations." Mathias had responded in August to earlier reports of the investigation in a series of tweets that opened with, «What I