PSG and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was tied up during an armed robbery at his Paris home and was treated in hospital afterwards, a source close to the investigation told AFP on Friday.
A group of “several individuals” broke into Donnarumma’s home in the upmarket 8th district of the capital overnight on Thursday-Friday.
He was “lightly injured” and “tied up” along with his partner, said the source, who was not authorised to speak publicly. The thieves fled after stealing jewellery, watches and other luxury goods worth an estimated 500,000 euros ($550,000), the source said, confirming a report by the Actu17 website which first reported the break-in.
Donnarumma and his partner raised the alarm at a hotel next to their home. In a statement, his agent said: “Gianluigi Donnarumma, 24, and his partner are in shock at what happened but doing well under the terrible circumstances. Both are assisting the police with their enquiries”.
Several PSG players have been targeted in robberies over the last few years, including Presnel Kimpembe, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Angel Di Maria, Dani Alves, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Sergio Rico and Mauro Icardi.
Four men were given prison sentences in January and February this year over burglaries at the homes of Marquinhos and Di Maria in 2021.
Marquinhos was playing at the time of the incident but his father was in the house along with his two teenage daughters. The father was hit in the face and ribs but was otherwise unhurt. The home of Marquinhos’s teammate Angel Di Maria was burgled on the same day. “PSG has confidence in the justice system to find the culprits as quickly as possible,” said a spokesman for PSG in response to the robbery of Donnarumma.
The goalkeeper was due to join the Paris St-Germain squad yesterday ahead of the club’s first pre-season friendly match against Le Havre and a tour of Japan and South Korea.
PSG extends summer tour with historic match in South Korea
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain will travel to South Korea for the first time in its history on August 2 and 3 to meet fans and take on Korean vice-champions Jeonbuk Hyundai at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in the city of Busan as part of the Coupang Play Series.
This historic encounter follows the recruitment this summer of the talented and promising Korean player Lee Kang-In, the country’s first footballer to wear PSG colours. The Parisian club’s Korean supporters will be able to attend a training session open to the public on August 2 at the Busan stadium.
The Parisians’ trip to South Korea is part of the club’s summer preparations. Paris Saint-Germain will stop off in Busan following the Japan Tour, which will see them play three friendly matches in Osaka and Tokyo between July 25 and August 1. The Parisian players will return to Ligue 1 action on the weekend of August 12 against Lorient.
South Korea is a key country for Paris Saint-Germain. The club set up an official store there in partnership with Over The Pitch in July 2020 and welcomes over 500 young people to its PSG Academy centres established in January 2022.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. (AFP)