‘It was eating me alive’ – Paul Pogba on the consequences of his 2022 kidnapping | OneFootball

In a deeply personal interview with GQ France, France 2018 World Cup winner Paul Pogba (31) opened up about the trauma of his kidnapping affair back in 2022 – and how it impacted on his performances and his ability to get back to his best level with Juventus.Pogba reflected on how the extortion ordeal — for which his own brother and several childhood friends were convicted — ate away at him from the inside while he tried to maintain a sense of normalcy.“I hid everything about the extortion,” Pogba said. “My wife didn’t know, my children didn’t know. When I got home from training, I had to play the role of father and husband. I kept it all to myself. In the end, it was eating me alive.”

Injuries, silence, and a body that eventually broke down

“I had so many problems that I just wasn’t playing anymore. And yet I kept trying. I knew it was the only way to forget my issues,” he said. “It took a toll on my body. That’s why I couldn’t make a comeback.”In March 2022, Pogba was lured into an ambush where two masked gunmen demanded €13 million at gunpoint. The case reached a conclusion in late 2024, with his brother Mathias and five accomplices receiving prison sentences of up to eight years.Since March, Pogba has been eligible to play again after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced his four-year doping ban to 18 months on appeal. Though currently without a club, the midfielder confirmed he’s received offers “from all over,” but is taking time to choose his next move carefully. One of the clubs interested in his signature in the winter was Olympique de Marseille, who ultimately opted to wait until the summer to make a move for the midfielder – despite initial conversations taking place with the OM leadership.GFFN | George Boxall