“They are ideal targets.” It is in these words that David Terrier, vice-president of the UNFP, described in January to the Parisian the footballers about the burglaries of which they are, very frequently, the victims. Last example to date: Gianluigi Donnarumma, the goalkeeper of Paris Saint-Germain, who was attacked at home on the night of Thursday to Friday while he was with his wife.
The violent robbery suffered by the Italian international (24) and Alessia Elefante, his partner, “tied up” by “several individuals” and “at gunpoint” while the criminals robbed them of “luxury watches, jewelry and leather goods” for an estimated amount of 500,000 euros, adds to the long list of thefts suffered by red and blue players in recent years. In March 2021, Captain Marquinhos’ father was robbed and beaten at his home in Chatou in a similar episode. The burglars had taken the wrong home, aiming for the player and having landed at his father’s house, of which he is the neighbor.
Marquinhos, Rico, Di Maria… at least 13 players targeted since 2014
In the same evening, his teammate Angel Di Maria had also been targeted. His family, present in his home in Neuilly-sur-Seine, fortunately saw or heard nothing of the event. The contents of a safe, watches and jewelry for more than 500,000 euros, had been stolen. Di Maria had already been the target of criminals in February 2015, when he was playing in Manchester.
Between 2018 and 2021, several other players had had their homes stripped, most while away. Marquinhos had already been the victim of a first burglary attempt on January 12, 2020, but four individuals who tried to enter the player’s house had been spotted by a security guard before they could commit their misdeed. Just like at Presnel Kimpembe, on November 25, 2022, or Layvin Kurzawa, on March 9, 2019, where the thugs were put to flight by people present at the home at the time of the events.
Thiago Silva (December 22, 2018) and Éric Maxim Choupo-Moting (November 24 then December 24, 2018) were victims of the “cat” team, arrested in August 2019. The former Parisian captain had been stolen a safe containing nearly 1.5 million euros worth of jewelry and watches, for nearly 700,000 euros in damage in the case of the Cameroonian.
Often hundreds of thousands of euros stolen
Clothing, watches or luxury jewelry had also been stolen from Dani Alves on February 21, 2019, from Mauro Icardi on January 31, 2021, but also from Sergio Rico on January 22, 2021 and then November 14, 2022. left empty-handed. A few years earlier, in 2014, Blaise Matuidi even had one of his cars stolen from his home in the Yvelines.
Misadventures that do not only occur in the Paris region, and do not only concern footballers at PSG. In the summer of 2022, Marco Verratti was robbed for over €3m while on vacation in Ibiza. On March 11, 2022, the former Danish star of the handball section Mikkel Hansen had been the victim of an “aggravated theft” at his home, for damage estimated at 60,000 euros, mainly jewelry.
