Family of Premier League star Jan Vertonghen held at knifepoint in burglary
The family of Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen was held at knifepoint in a burglary while the player was away with his club on Champions League duty.
British police said four men wearing balaclavas and brandishing knifes broke into Vertonghen’s London home while the Belgian international’s wife Sophie de Vries and two children were at home.
The 32-year-old Vertonghen was in Germany for Tottenham’s Champions League last 16 second-leg defeat to RB Leipzig when the burglary took place last Tuesday.
He was an unused substitute as Tottenham lost 3-0 to go out of the competition.
“We have been supporting Jan and his family through this terribly traumatic time,” a Spurs spokesperson told CNN.
“We encourage anyone who has any information to come forward to help the police with their investigation.”
A police spokesman told CNN: “Police were called to a residential address in London NW3 at 7.49pm (19.49 GMT) on 10 March to a report of a burglary.
“Officers attended. It was reported four men wearing balaclavas, armed with knives, had forced entry to the property and stolen a number of items before leaving.
“Nobody was injured. The suspects had left the scene before officers arrived. There have been no arrests and inquiries continue.”
The burglary follows other similar recent incidents involving current and former English Premier League football players.
Earlier this season, Arsenal duo Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac were targeted by armed moped riders while driving through north London, near where Vertonghen and his family live.
Police later made arrests, with two men charged over the incident which was captured on CCTV and widely shared on social media.
Last summer, former Tottenham and Liverpool star Ronny Rosenthal was attacked and punched in the face by knife-wielding robbers in his north London property and in December Crystal Palace defender, Mamadou Sakho, had the home he rents in south London burgled while he was away with his family.
