Mathias, the older brother in the shadow of the footballer, “puppet” of his racketeers

With his bag on his shoulder, Mathias Pogba leaves the “One Ball” gym, in Noisy-le-Grand, on July 13, 2022. Coincidence or not, he meets several familiar faces at the entrance. Those of Machikour K. and Boubacar C., childhood friends of La Renardière. It is in this district of Roissy-en-Brie, in Seine-et-Marne, that everyone grew up. Now, all three Pogba sons are footballers. Florentin – his twin – and Paul, of course, the youngest. “Mathias, we need to talk to you. Something crazy happened to us”whisper the two men. Both seem to be in dire straits. Mathias stops, taken aback.

For years, Mathias, who spent part of his career in Spain, Slovenia, then in Belfort, has moved away from his little brother. The international three years his junior, licensed at the time at Manchester United, experienced a meteoric rise, far from the city of their childhood. Paul Pogba plays for the French team, was crowned world champion four years earlier. When…