It is the first time that athletes have been included in the Activision-published franchise.

It is reported that a virtual version of Argentina's Lionel Messi will also be included in the game at a later date.

Both FIFA World Cup winner Pogba and Olympic gold medallist Neymar are said to be fans of the first-person shooter.

In 2020, Pogba, a France and Juventus midfielder, announced a partnership with the game saying that he had signed for Verdansk FC, a fictional club in the series.

It is not the first time that Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian star Neymar has been in a video game after appearances in Fortnite and mobile title Mech Arena.

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, both players are dressed in camouflaged military uniforms including headphones, eyewear and weaponry.

Pogba returned to Juventus this year following a six-year spell at Manchester United while Neymar has been with the Ligue 1 powerhouse since 2017.

The pair had been expected to play vital roles in their respective national teams' campaigns at the upcoming World Cup which is set to take place in Qatar from November 20 to December 18, but Pogba is likely out of the tournament through injury.

Neymar has recently been cleared of criminal fraud and corruption charges by a Barcelona court in relation to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013.

Brazilian investment company DIS owned 40 per cent of the rights to Neymar as a player for Santos and had argued that his transfer fee in his move to Barcelona was undervalued, meaning it lost out.

However, prosecutor Luis Garcia Canton told a Barcelona court that "there is not the slightest hint of crime", and was successful in his request for the "acquittal of all defendants", as reported by Reuters.