Arthur Melo’s home was burgled during Barcelona’s champions league semi-final first leg match against Liverpool on Wednesday night. According to DailyMail, Spanish police have begun search for the two burglars who broke into the Brazilian star’s home.
They were said to have carted away with valuables that include jewellery and Rolex watch, while they also held a screwdriver to the throat of Arthur’s brother. The Brazil international was an unused substitute as Barcelona secured a comfortable first leg victory.
A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force, asked about reports Arthur Melo’s home had been targeted, confirmed officers were investigating a break-in at a house in the upmarket Barcelona neighbourhood of Pedralbes.
The spokesman added: ‘We would not say who lives at the property. All I can confirm is that we are investigating a break-in and robbery at an address in Pedralbes.’ Local reports said his unnamed brother returned home around 11pm after the match to find two masked men in the house, who put a weapon similar to a screwdriver to his throat and forced him to open a safe with valuables inside. There were no reports of any injuries.
A number of top football stars in Spain have been targeted by criminals who broke into their homes while they were on footballing duty. In February, burglars broke into former Premier League star Kevin Prince Boateng’s rented home in the upmarket Barcelona neighbourhood of Sarria and took around £250,000 of valuables and cash as he was playing against Valladolid.
As well as watches and jewellery, the burglars are also believed to have taken cash. It later emerged it was the same house targeted by criminals last November when Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba was living there, and was on his way to Italy for a Champions League tie against Inter Milan.
In June last year burglars broke into the luxury home of Barcelona star Gerard Pique and his singer partner Shakira. The footballer’s parents were said to have been asleep inside the mansion in Esplugues de Llobregat near Barcelona when the break-in occurred. They were unharmed.
Pique had travelled to the German city of Cologne where Shakira was performing and was not at home at the time. The criminals, described as ‘professionals’ who left no fingerprints, reportedly took watches and expensive jewellery after timing their break-in to coincide with a storm which muffled any noise they were making.
In February last year burglars broke into former Liverpool star’s Philippe Coutinho’s home near Barcelona on the same day his car was towed away. The midfielder had to get his Audi Q7 back from a municipal pound after visiting the famous Sagrada Familia monument with family and friends and leaving it badly parked.
Worse was to come when he returned to his luxury villa in Castelldefels a 30-minute drive south of the Catalan capital to find it had been burgled. The thieves are thought to have taken advantage of two ladders that had been left by a neighbouring property where work is going on to enter the mansion, the old home of Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas.
The thieves struck while the 26-year-old, who joined Barcelona on a £142million deal in January last year, was out for dinner after recovering his car.
Coutinho was enjoying some down-time with his wife Aine and friends after staying behind in Barcelona while his teammates travelled to Chelsea for their Champions League tie because he was ineligible to play in the competition.
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