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Pogba considered retiring from football over extortion case.
Paul Pogba has stated that he pondered quitting professional football after an alleged organized armed extortion attempt on him and his brother.
An investigation was launched last year into allegations that the Juventus and France midfielder was the victim of an extortion conspiracy hatched by his brother Mathias and boyhood friends demanding €13 million from him.
Speaking to Al Jazeera’s Generation Sport, Pogba said the case played a part in him wanting to quit football.
“Money changes people. … It can break up a family,” he said. “It can create a war. 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.”
After leaving Manchester United and returning to Juventus, Pogba also had a difficult time on the field.
The 30-year-old was forced to leave France’s World Cup squad in Qatar after experiencing numerous injury issues the previous season.
The midfielder declared that he is determined to disprove his detractors and forewarned that criticism may make players want to give up on their chosen sport.
“I want to make them eat their words. … I want to show them I’m not weak,” Pogba said. “They can talk bad about me. I will never give up.”
He added: “Football is very beautiful, but is cruel. People can forget you in one day. You can do something great, but the next day you are nobody.
“People are waiting for you, saying: ‘He’s done, his career is finished.’ You get these comments after scoring goals, and winning the World Cup. People forget it. So you have to prove all the time.
“You have to accept it, but nobody can be criticised like that. There are so many players that lost it mentally, they didn’t even want to play football anymore because of all the negative things.”