InvestigationIn recent months, a wave of burglaries has hit the stars of PSG and their relatives. A phenomenon that the clubs are struggling to stem and a major concern, at a time when Paris is recruiting Lionel Messi at a high price.
In which ultra-secure Paris villa will Lionel Messi set down his suitcases, with his family, when he signed the solid gold contract, Tuesday, August 10, offered to him by the leaders of Paris-Saint-Germain ( PSG)? The question may seem anecdotal in the turbulent context of the star’s arrival in Paris. It is however essential in the eyes of the best footballer of this beginning of the XXIe century, escorted daily by a cohort of bodyguards and whose in-laws were kidnapped, in 2015, by armed and hooded burglars in Rosario, the birthplace of the Argentinian prodigy.
Especially since Lionel Messi is perfectly aware of the misadventure experienced this winter by his probable future Parisian partner and compatriot Angel Di Maria, March 14, 2021. That day, Di Maria struggles to hide his perplexity and annoyance when he leaves the lawn of the Parc des Princes. The Argentine striker of PSG is then invited by his coach, Mauricio Pochettino, to leave the field early, in the middle of the league meeting against Nantes. The player will learn it from the mouths of his leaders: his home in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine) has just been “visited” by burglars, during the match, despite the presence on the scene of his family and a security guard.
The damage would be evaluated at several hundred thousand euros (jewelry, watches) for Di Maria, already the victim of “home-jacking” during his time at Manchester United (2014-2015). That same evening of March 14, another burglary took place in Chatou (Yvelines), at the parents of the Brazilian defender of PSG, Marquinhos. This time, the damage amounted to only several tens of thousands of euros, but the situation got out of hand: the father of the Parisian captain was harassed and kidnapped, with his two daughters, in a dressing room.
A law of the series for PSG
Responsible for the “Marquinhos affair”, the Versailles prosecutor confirms to the World the opening of a judicial investigation against four suspected criminals, placed in pre-trial detention and indicted, among others, for “theft in an organized gang followed by violence, forcible confinement”, “association of criminals with a view to committing a crime”. “The burglary was prepared”, specifies a judicial source.
At Paris-Saint-Germain, these two “home-jackings” are not isolated cases. We can even talk about a playoff law: four burglaries targeting club players have taken place since January 2021. Already, in February 2019, the mansion of Brazilian Dani Alves, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, had been burgled for damage of 500,000 euros. Then, in January 2020, four hooded individuals fled as they attempted to “visit” Marquinhos’ home in Yvelines.
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