Former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse has been released by police after being detained for questioning as part of an investigation into a blackmail case, the Daily Mail reports.

Cisse was raided at dawn and arrested in an investigation into a plot to blackmail his former team-mate and France international Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.

The Versailles prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Cisse was released without appearing before a judge.

Cisse is one of four men in custody facing charges that could see them imprisoned by up to five years.

It all relates to a judicial investigation opened in July under the orders of a judge sitting in Versailles, west of Paris. Cisse is said to have been part of a plot to extort money from Valbuena.

The 31-year-old Lyon midfielder was asked for cash in return for the tape not being published, it is alleged.