FORMER Liverpool and France striker Djibril Cisse and three other people were arrested Tuesday in a blackmail investigation that allegedly involves a sex tape featuring international midfielder Mathieu Valbuena.

    Cisse, 34, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 and has also played for clubs including Auxerre, Marseille, Sunderland, Lazio and Panathinaikos, was arrested early Tuesday by police in Versailles near Paris.

    He was released without charge late in the afternoon.

    The three other people who are suspected of attempting to blackmail Lyon player Valbuena remained in custody, according to a judicial source. It is claimed they are in possession of a sex tape that he is said to have made with his partner.

    Lawyers for Valbuena, 31, told AFP they would not comment while the investigation was under way.

    Cisse himself made a complaint to police in 2008 after claiming he was the target of a blackmail attempt involving a sex tape while he was playing for Marseille.  (SD-Agencies)