The swarm of huge moths that previously descended on the Stade de France the Euro 2016 final were summoned by Paul Pogba’s medicine man, the footballer’s older brother claimed.
In the latest in his series of extraordinary allegations, Mathias Pogba also says that his sibling would “moonize human life”, abandon members of their families and leave them in poverty.
In 2016, players and supporters ducked for cover as moths swarmed the pitch for Portugal’s 1-0 win over France. Now Mathias has claimed that the insects — described in his video as “butterflies” — were the work of a spell cast by his brother’s medicine man, “Ibrahim.”
Mathias had previously claimed that the witch doctor was used to curse Kylian Mbappe, but he also says he casts spells to win certain competitions. “Like in the final of the European Championship 2016, where strange things happened, such as the swarm of butterflies before the match,” Mathias adds.
According to several reports in France, Mathias claims that the medicine man received a bimonthly payment of €75,000 to €100,000 from his brother.
The latest batch of videos and tweets are said to have been released remotely by a “bot” Mathias set up before he was arrested by police last week. In the messages, Mathias also makes allegations about Pogba’s love life.
All of Mathias’s claims are still vigorously refuted by the former Manchester United midfielder.
‘There is nothing left to hope for’
The latest statements come after an extraordinary saga in which the former Manchester United player claimed he was actually taken hostage and threatened, in an attempted extortion March in Paris.
A criminal investigation is underway in France into allegations that the 29-year-old’s own brother, Mathias, 32, and childhood friends were behind the plot. No further comment is expected from Pogba other than a statement released through lawyers previously: “Mathias Pogba’s recent statements on social media are unfortunately not a surprise. They come after threats and attempts at extortion by an organized gang against Paul Pogba. Italy and France referred to the competent authorities.”
Pogba is said to have told police he had aimed an automatic rifle in his face. The gang also allegedly took Pogba at the end of March to a flat in the Paris suburb of Lagny-sur-Marne, where he grew up. They reportedly wanted €13 million (£11 million) and had been threatening him for four months.
However, in the latest series of shots, Mathias says: “Everyone wondered why I didn’t make my disclosures directly, because I thought it was to blackmail my brother, but what I wanted was for him to take responsibility for himself and his injustices.” would recover…
“Because you always hope for his brother’s reformation. We want to believe that the brother we loved still exists. But when this brother comes to scoff at human life, even as part of his family, there’s nothing left to worry about.” hope. That’s why I tried reconciliation.”
However, in the past day, more than 30 videos have also been posted on Twitter in which Mathias reads a statement face-to-camera. It appears they were recorded before Mathias turned himself in for police questioning last week. He’s been stuck ever since.
“If you’re watching this video, it’s because my brother Paul Pogba has found a way to silence me,” Mathias says in the first of the series. “I’m recording this video so that whatever happens, everything will be revealed.” Mathias wears three different T-shirts in the different videos, suggesting that they were filmed at different times.
The words “insurance video, kept in a safe place” were written on top of many of the videos. The films come after previous social media posts in which Pogba’s brother had threatened to make explosive revelations about the injured Juventus midfielder.
Mathias and four others filed preliminary charges last Saturday as part of the racketeering investigation, French prosecutors said. The videos were also accompanied by a series of Twitter posts. The first message in the long thread said it was sent automatically by “my bot”. “That also means I’m not free anymore,” the message read.