Share
11th September 2023
11:08am BST
Paul Pogba has admitted that he considered retiring from football in 2022.
Pogba has experienced a difficult time having been at the centre of an alleged extortion plot against him and his family.
The World Cup winner was threatened by a gang of masked, armed men who confronted him in a Paris apartment and demanded millions for "protection services".
Mathias Pogba - Paul's brother - was investigated as part of the incident and spent three months in prison while another four men were placed under investigation.
His brother has maintained his innocence and was subsequently released under judicial review but has been prevented from contacting his brother, and leaving France.
On the pitch, Pogba has also struggled for game time after suffering from numerous injury but after testifying about the extortion plot in April, the midfielder told Al Jazeera's Generation Sport that the ordeal nearly made him quit the game for good.
"Money changes people. … It can break up a family. It can create a war," he said.
"Sometimes I was just by myself thinking, 'I don't want to have money anymore. I just don't want to play anymore.
"I just want to be with normal people, so they will love me for me – not for the fame, not for the money.' Sometimes it's tough."
Pogba reportedly told police that the gang had been threatening him since March 2022, who had been demanding £11m for "protection".
He revealed that he had been confronted with guns while on international duty, the 30-year-old reportedly gave the gang £100,000 in order to "save time" however the gang demanded more which continued when the Frenchman moved to Turin in the summer of 2022.
After missing the whole of the 2022/2023 campaign through injury, Pogba returned to the fold and played in the opening two games before suffering a back injury in a 2-0 win against Empoli earlier this month.
Related links:
Explore more on these topics:
