Former Manchester United and England defender Chris Smalling and family were robbed at gunpoint in their home, reports say.
According to the report by Gazzetta dello Sport, Chris Smalling and family were forced to open their family’s safe after armed robbers broke into his home on Friday morning.
The report claimed that the robbers stole items of jewellery and other valuable items, before Smalling’s wife, Sam, called the police at around 5am and officers arrived to find the family distressed.
Smalling was absent as Roma clinched a Europa League quarter-final victory over Ajax on Thursday night due to a knee injury and will hope to regain his fitness in time for the semi-final tie against his former club Manchester United.
The ex-England star spent a decade at Old Trafford, making 323 appearances for United and helping the club win two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, the EFL cup and the Europa League – before joining Roma in 2019.
Smalling has said his wife Sam, who he married in 2017, has supported his career moves, having left her home town of Manchester to move to Italy two years ago.
‘My wife has always been supportive. She said: “If you want to move, we’ll all move. We’ll do what’s best for your football.” I knew she’d say that, which I appreciated,’ Smalling told The Athletic in October 2019.
‘So I moved. I lived in a hotel for a month and we moved into a beautiful house last week. It’s 700 hundred years old, just outside Rome. ‘It’s surrounded by greenery which is important with our dogs.
Everyone is here now and that feels good.’ Earlier this year, fellow Serie A star Weston McKennie was burgled while the USA international was playing for Juventus in the Italian Cup quarter-final on January 27.