Sunderland star Brian Brobbey was the alleged victim in a chilling blackmail and extortion plot dating back to 2022, with a close friend suffering from a near-fatal shooting. The Athletic and Het Parool have released an extensive report, stating the Black Cats star is completely innocent of any wrongdoing but was caught up in a case involving a notorious gangster.

The case only became public three months before his move to the Stadium of Light, when Brobbey's name was mentioned in a court hearing.

It is alleged that Brobbey was attending a music festival in his home city of Amsterdam, having returned to his boyhood club from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig five months earlier. The then Ajax striker was approached by a man the Dutch court called Jeymon A, who asked the footballer to walk to a location where the two could talk.

The pair allegedly knew each other by sight, having grown up in Zuidoost, a suburb in eastern Amsterdam, though Brobbey knew nothing about the man.

Jeymon A allegedly told the Dutch striker...