Nice's Senegalese defender Souleymane Diawara was remanded in custody in a Marseille prison on Friday for attempted extortion in a case involving the purchase of a stolen car.

According to police sources, Diawara, 36, and four other people, including his brother, tried to take the law into their own hands by attempting to get the player's money back from a man who had sold him a Porsche which later turned out to have been stolen.

Diawara is said to have bought the Porsche Cayenne for 50,000 euros in cash, but discovering it was stolen, he and the four others visited the seller's home in the middle of the night.

They are alleged to have threatened the man, whose wife and two children were also present, but no weapons were used and no-one was hurt in the altercation.

Diawara's lawyer Gregory Bensadoun told French TV station BFM TV he "found it incredible that someone who is beyond reproach" like Diawara should find himself "detained".

"For now, nothing can justify him being held in custody," he added.

The seller was interviewed by police but later released without charge

Diawara, capped 48 times by his country, has previously won the French title with both Bordeaux and Marseille, where is considered a club legend.

He has played 14 league matches this season for Nice.