Some cultural context is needed to understand the strange saga of French soccer superstar Paul Pogba. Many top-level athletes in France – as well as a significant portion of the general public — have a tradition of dealing with faith healers and witch doctors for good fortune, success, mental well-being, and the like. Pogba was no exception, but in his case, the situation led to a strange scandal in 2022. While the player said he visited a witch doctor for strictly benevolent purposes, his brother, Mathias Pogba, had another version of the story.
Mathias claimed that Paul’s intention was to injure fellow French superstar player Kylian Mbappe, something both Paul Pogba and the witch doctor in question have denied. As it turns out, Mathias Pogba’s intentions may not have been exactly noble, either, as he and a number of his old friends were named as potential culprits in a 2022 incident where the soccer star Paul was briefly kidnapped and extorted for millions of dollars.
As it turns out, the ongoing investigation of this incident isn’t even Paul’s biggest problem. After failing a doping test in 2023, the player received a four-year soccer ban in February 2024. Combine all this, and it certainly appears that his visit to the witch doctor didn’t exactly bring him good fortune.
