Several robbers broke into the house of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, overpowered the FC Barcelona forward and his wife. First of all, it is said that both were physically unharmed. However, new reports show that a former Borussia Dortmund professional was seriously injured in the attack.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was apparently injured more severely than initially thought in the robbery at his home in Spain. As reported by several media, the FC Barcelona striker suffered a broken jaw during the attack by at least four hooded people. Immediately after the fact became known, the usually well-informed Catalan radio station RAC1 said that the 33-year-old and his partner had been attacked with firearms and metal bars during the robbery. Aubameyang was hit on the chin by one of the robbers – in view of these details, an injury to the jaw seems understandable. Initially, it was said that he was physically unharmed.
According to international media reports, it is still unclear how long the attacker will be out. “The Athletic” writes four to five weeks, while ESPN says “around three weeks”. However, the time frame also appears to depend on how the fractured jaw is treated. Because in addition to an operation, a conservative approach is apparently also being considered. Apart from the physical healing process, there is certainly also the question of the psychological consequences of the terrible experiences.
Around 1 a.m. on Monday night, the armed robbers broke into the Aubameyang house in Castelldefels near Barcelona. Threatened with the use of firearms and metal bars, they forced the footballer and his partner to hand over valuables with a total value of around 700,000 euros. According to RAC1, the couple had to lie on the floor for around an hour, and ESPN even said they were tied up. The children in the house are said to have witnessed the nightly events. After their violent raid, the perpetrators fled undetected in a car, and the police have been investigating ever since. Neither the club nor the footballer have publicly commented on this so far.
The Aubameyang robbery is the latest in what has now become a long list of crimes to which FC Barcelona professionals have fallen victim. Robert Lewandowski, who switched from FC Bayern to the Catalans this summer, recently had an expensive wristwatch stolen from his wrist through the open car window. Gerard Piqué and Philippe Coutinho were also broken into in 2018, but the defender was not at home.
In the same year, thieves broke into Luis Suárez’s house and stole jewelry, among other things. Last year Ansu Fati was caught while FC Barcelona were playing Real Madrid – valuables were being cleared upstairs while members of the family were downstairs. The premises of Kevin-Prince Boateng, under contract with Barça for only six months in 2019, were also broken into and searched.
The perpetrators take advantage of the fact that the football professionals are clearly out of the house when they train or travel to games. There are similar incidents at other clubs, too. In April, for example, several perpetrators stole the 2014 world champion and former German national player Shkodran Mustafi in his house near Valencia. There, the 30-year-old plays for UD Levante and was reportedly even at home when the crime happened, albeit on a different floor. Therefore, he only noticed the loss later. With a view to the fate of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, at least the damage to property remained.
