As reported by L’Équipe, France coach Didier Deschamps is concerned about the potential repercussions for his France team ahead of the World Cup following revelations surrounding alleged blackmail attempts by Paul Pogba’s brother Mathias to extract money from him, as well as Kylian Mbappé’s role in the affair.
Pogba decided to forego major knee surgery earlier this summer after an injury in Juventus training that would have kept him out of the World Cup, instead choosing a faster and more risky method of recovery to try and make the tournament in Qatar. Deschamps is worried about the effect the affair will have on one of his key players’ state of mind, should he be fit to play this November.
The spectre of another legal case, the long-running saga surrounding Karim Benzema – which greatly affected the France camp, also hangs over Deschamps. A fractious squad in the past, Mathias Pogba’s allegations that Paul used a witchdoctor to “put a spell” on Mbappé could lead to new divisions, despite Deschamps long efforts to prioritise harmony above all else.
With just three months to go until the World Cup, Les Bleus could be on the verge of fracturing, 12 years after their last major social breakdown at a World Cup in South Africa, which included the team refusing to train and the squad being banned by the FFF for the following game against Norway.
Here’s everything we know about the Paul Pogba alleged blackmail case so far.
GFFN
