PARIS: France international footballer Paul Pogba told AFP on Friday he wanted “to turn the page“ after his brother was sentenced to a three-year prison term, with two years suspended, after a high-profile extortion case.
“There is no winner in this case which involves members of my family and people I have known since childhood,“ the former Juventus and Manchester United star said through his lawyer.
On Thursday, Mathias Pogba, the elder brother of the footballer, was told he would be able to serve his sentence at home while wearing an electronic device rather than behind bars.
The court also fined Mathias 20,000 euros for participating in the attempted extortion of 13 million euros ($13.5 million) from Paul Pogba in 2022, and for putting pressure on the player, his family and his business contacts to obtain the payment.
Five childhood friends of the player were sentenced up to eight years in prison and handed fines of 20,000 to 40,000 euros, for extortion, kidnapping as well as participation in a criminal gang.
“I can finally turn the page on this extremely painful period,“ said Paul Pogba on Friday.
“This conclusion is an opportunity for everyone to focus on the future.”
The 31-year-old added: “Now that the judgement has been made, I can fully concentrate on my return to professional football.”
The trial came on top of professional woes for Paul Pogba, whose career has been far from smooth since France’s 2018 World Cup win when he scored against Croatia in the final.
He suffered through repeated injuries and patchy form that led to his departure from Manchester United in 2022. He returned for a second stint at Juventus, where problems continued to dog him.
He is serving a suspension for doping which was reduced to 18 months on appeal and he will be free to play again in March next year, but last month Juventus terminated his contract.
