04 August 2023 , 11:53
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Burglars made off with a Rolex after breaking into Matteo Guendouzi’s home and terrifying his wife while he was out playing for Marseille.
The former Arsenal midfielder was playing in a pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen at the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday evening when robbers struck. According to local newspaper La Provence, they managed to get away with a watch valued at €200,000 (£172,000) after breaking in through a bedroom window.
Guendouzi’s wife, Mae Rfsk, was in the house at the time and called the police after hearing suspicious noises at around 10.30pm. She scared the thieves off, but they escaped before the police arrived.
Police are investigating the break-in and theft after the 24-year-old midfielder, who has a young daughter, became the latest in a growing group of footballers to have been targeted by criminals while away playing for their clubs.
Guendouzi’s Marseille team-mate Sead Kolasinac, who lives in the same Cassis area near the French city, was targeted in a similar way back in January. Kolasinac’s wife and daughter were also in their property at the time and were said to have been left traumatised by the incident.
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Back in October 2021, another Marseille player, Valentin Rongier, suffered a burglary at his home in Cassis during a match. That year the police reported that there were 22 incidents of footballers’ homes being broken into by thieves.
Guendouzi has played for Marseille since 2021 after Arsenal decided to cut their losses by loaning him out. The French side then paid £9million for his services permanently last year and he has made 99 appearances for the club altogether, scoring 10 goals.
Matteo Guendouzi's wife Mae was inside the house at the time (Instagram / @rfskmae)
The couple had a Rolex stolen (Instagram / @rfskmae)He previously made 82 appearances for the Gunners over a four-year period, having been signed from Lorient in 2018. The France international has been linked with a move back to the Premier League, via a transfer to West Ham, but he is under contract with Marseille until June 2025.
Criminals are increasingly seeing footballers as easy targets, with fixture schedules advertising when they won’t be at home. Some are so brazen that they do not wait for players to leave their homes.
Last month Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his partner, Alessia Elefante were terrorised in their own home. Robbers broke open the door to their home before the duo were tied up and stripped. The burglars then took goods worth around £432k (€500k) before fleeing the scene.
The problem is not confined to France, either. Players in the Premier League have reportedly started hiring ex-special forces soldiers to guard their homes while away.
Clubs right across the north west of England set up a discussion group to share information on the best ways to combat the criminals. Players have bought specially-trained guard dogs, while the ex-SAS soldiers are being employed to patrol problem areas as well as sit inside homes to protect them from criminal gangs.