FOOTBALLERS are doing everything in their power to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
But recently some have been targeted by armed masked men, who have broken into their luxury homes, terrorised family members, and stolen precious items.
Former faced a horrifying ordeal, when burglars smashed down his front door at his Seville home, threatened his influencer wife Alba Silva in front of their two children, including their baby son, and tied them up.
While Bruno Fernandes is to be burglarised, after his £4million Cheshire home was raided a ruthless “away day” gang while he was on Champions League duty for Manchester United at Como.
Today, many elite footballers are against organised criminal gangs by using high-tech hardware, private protection teams, including specially-trained guard dogs, and even panic rooms.
SunSport looks at the measures some are taking to keep their family homes safe.
Panic rooms
Premier League stars from , Liverpool, and Everton have reportedly spent some of their vast fortunes on installing panic rooms in their homes in affluent areas like Alderley Edge and Hale.
Costing anywhere from between £40k to £1m, they provide a secure hiding spot for families at home during a burglary.
David Beckham recently installed one , along with a 24-hour, 60-camera CCTV system.
Paul Weldon, managing director of The Panic Room , fits them for high-profile clients around Europe.
He told us: “, that if the house becomes under some form of aggravated break-in, the family can get into that room, be safe and secure and have some independent communication to call for help.
“In a residential home, we try to locate somewhere on the first bedroom floor where there’s a closet of two metres by two metres that can double up as a fully-blown panic room.
“Generally, our rooms are installed inside an existing room and they have the capability to withstand bullets from a handgun and a shotgun.
“They range from about £40,000 to £1m in price – and clients don’t just use them to protect themselves, they’ll store specialist wines, art work, and put their safes in there too.
“But you have to remember, a panic room is a last resort. With a big, detached property you’ve got to incorporate other systems.
“It may be at night you set perimeter alarms, or a ground floor alarm. So at least you’ve got some warning that someone is knocking around.
“If the alarm activates outside, you can get your family inside a panic room and call the police. But it’s got to be used with other security features of a property.”
Perimiter defence
Virtual perimeters, like geofencing, have also become a useful form of defence to stop intruders breaking into footballer’s homes.
This location-based technology creates a boundary around a specific geographic area and triggers automated actions when someone enters or exits that boundary.
Integrated with CCTV and motion sensors, if an intruder breaches the geofenced zone, a silent or immediate alarm triggers, giving the player and their family time to escape into their reinforced steel panic rooms while alerting private security or police.
These alarms can be sent to a mobile phone or central control system. The user’s mobile device often works in tandem with the system, toggling the system on and off if they’re home or not.
It’s a measure that can cost up to £12,000-per-month, and has reportedly been adopted by former , France World Cup winner Paul Pogba, and Chelsea defender Reece James.
Protection dogs
While looking for a man’s best friend, many footballers are adopting specially-trained guard dogs to keep them and their loved ones away from danger.
The likes of Marcus Rashford, , Kyle Walker, and Raheem Sterling have all invested in dogs that have become a family’s best protector.
Specialised firms like Leicestershire-based provide rigorous 12-month training for these animals.
According to their website, the dogs are able to recognise and deal with a number of different threats, including home invasion, road rage, personal attacks on the person and their family and robbery.
They function as gentle family pets indoors but transition instantly into protective guard animals when recognising a threat or command.
Once given a command, they will spring into action with an apparent initial display of aggression to ward a potential assailant off simply by barking.
If there is more than one attacker, they are taught to position themselves between you and the potential threat, continuously barking to keep the assailants at bay.
And should the assailant continue to pose you a danger, a Chaperone K9 has learned, on command, to bite and hold the attacker until you tell the dog to release them.
But these pets don’t come cheap. They start at around £15,000 each.
Ex-military & SAS guards
When you’re a superstar footballer, you have to take even greater measures to ensure your own personal safety.
That’s why many invest in private security guards, often with ex-military and SAS backgrounds.
Companies including Blue Diamond Security or LSS London are inundated with requests from footballers and look after many Premier League stars.
Famously, Lionel Messi has French-Tunisian martial artist and former MMA fighter by his side.
He has become world famous for who try to get close to the Inter Miami star.
While Messi’s rival, Cristiano Ronaldo is believed to spend up to £2.6million-per-year on .
That includes armoured SUVs and family guards who are former war veterans who have toured Afghanistan.
Brazilian footballer is also said to have surveillance experts watching his luxury estate in Mangaratiba, near Rio de Janeiro 24/7.
