Paul Pogba: “I don’t want France to explode”

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has spoken in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera in which he expressed his concern about the latest violence in France, specifically the killing of Nahel Merzouk by a police officer.

The 17-year-old was shot dead in the suburbs of Paris by a police officer, sparking a wave of violent demonstrations in the French capital that rocked Paris for several weeks. The worried French player admitted he is afraid that “France will explode” and calls for justice for those responsible.

“I don’t want France to explode. I don’t want to have to see all the people breaking neighbors’ cars, shops and things like that, because that doesn’t help. But what would help is justice,” Pogba said.

“I don’t think it’s allowed to shoot someone who is unarmed, to shoot them in the heart because they don’t have a driving license. And the policeman stops working for the police station he’s from and that’s it? This is not right,” he added.

Pogba: Football is cruel

Pogba, who was the victim of blackmail and extortion by an organized gang, also spoke out about mental health, being held at gunpoint by a group of criminals and the racism and pressures a player faces as an elite athlete. “Football is beautiful, but it’s cruel. People can forget you. You can do something great and the next day you are nobody,” he confessed.

The France international spoke about the effect money can have on people. “Money changes people... It can break a family up. It can create a war. Sometimes I was left alone thinking: ‘I don’t want to have money anymore. I don’t want to play anymore. I just want to be with normal people, who love me for me, not for fame and not for money’. Sometimes it’s hard.”