Manchester City star Jack Grealish has spoken of his devastation and the “traumatic experience” of burglars targeting his home.
Raiders struck at the England midfielder’s Cheshire mansion during City’s Premier League clash against Everton on Wednesday.
Members of Grealish’s family and his fiancee Sasha Atwood were watching the televised match at the property when they heard a disturbance, The Sun newspaper reported.
An alarm was raised and an emergency response was launched with a helicopter, police dogs and a number of officers sent to the property near Knutsford, but no suspects were detected.
The newspaper said the thieves made off with £1million worth of jewellery and watches.
Writing on Instagram, Grealish said: “I can’t begin to explain how devastated I am over the burglary that took place at my home a few days ago.
“My family mean the world to me and nothing is more important than ensuring their safety. This has been a traumatic experience for all of us, I am just so grateful that nobody was hurt.
“I have had so many amazing experiences and achievements over the last 12 months, but to be honest the best year of my life in football now doesn’t feel like something I can celebrate.
“The people that commit these terrible crimes have no idea of the damage they cause to peoples lives. I hope they are found and brought to justice so no other family has to go through what we have.
“I appreciate the messages from everyone and the support from my friends, team-mates and the club.
“On a more positive note, I’d like to thank everyone for their support throughout this past year, I wish you and your family a happy 2024.”
Grealish’s England team-mate James Maddison was one of the first to reply to the post with: “Love ya brother”.
A spokeswoman for Cheshire Constabulary said on Friday: “At around 9.50pm on Wednesday 27 December police were called to reports of a burglary.
“The caller reported that a number of items had been stolen.
“Officers, supported by the police dogs and NPAS (National Police Air Service), were deployed and searches were conducted in the local area, but there was no trace of the suspects.
“No arrests have been made at this time and enquiries are ongoing.”
Havertz out of Germany squad with knee injury
Kai Havertz has pulled out of Germany's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches due to a knee injury.
The Arsenal forward played a full 90 minutes in their comeback win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, netting their first goal.
He became the first player to score in seven consecutive home appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since Robin van Persie between December 2011 and March 2012 (also a run of seven).
Havertz has made a stellar start to the campaign, netting six goals in all competitions so far, also getting one assist.
However, he will not be available to face Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to his injury, and it is not yet clear if it will keep him sidelined for Arsenal after the international break.
"Kai Havertz will miss the upcoming international matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to knee problems," Germany announced on X.
"National team coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated Jonathan Burkardt in Havertz's place. Get well soon Kai."
Liverpool edge Tottenham in thriller as injury-hit Everton hold Arsenal
Arsenal missed the chance to keep pace with Women's Super League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, but Liverpool grabbed the standout result.
Liverpool edged Tottenham 3-2 thanks to Marie-Therese Hobinger's last-gasp penalty.
Having netted her first goal of the season in the 75th minute, Hobinger doubled up to win it for the Reds deep in stoppage time.
Ashleigh Neville fouled Sophie Roman Haug, and Hobinger made no mistake to seal Liverpool's first win of the season.
Neville had turned provider for Tottenham's second equaliser of the game at Gaughan Group Stadium, when she crossed for Clare Hunt to score in the 83rd minute.
Liverpool took the lead early on through Cornelia Kapocs, before Taylor Hinds' own goal handed Spurs a leveller.
The Reds' Merseyside rivals Everton, meanwhile, frustrated Arsenal by holding the Gunners to a 0-0 draw.
Everton have been hit by serious knee injuries to Inma Gabarro and Aurora Galli this season, but the Toffees showed plenty of resilience to pick up their first point of the campaign at Emirates Stadium.
Emily Fox went closest for Arsenal when she hit the post early in the first half, but in spite of having 21 shots, the Gunners accumulated only 0.74 expected goals (xG).
Annabel Blanchard, meanwhile, netted twice to propel Crystal Palace to their first victory of the season, as they beat Leicester City 2-0.
Earlier in the day, Man City defeated West Ham 2-0.
Emery: Villa 'missed some energy' in Man Utd stalemate
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "missed some energy" during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend's 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.
Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans' second-half attempt.
And Emery believes his side's midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.
"It is not the best result, but it's not the worst," the Villa boss said. "I think a draw is fair.
"We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn't.
"We missed some energy. Maybe it's because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving."
It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.
After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.
"We are in the process of building a team," he added. "We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.
"We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We're going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding."
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