Jamie Vardy’s luxury villa in Italy has been targeted by burglars who made off with £80,000 worth of his belongings.
The former striker for England joined Italian team Cremonese in the summer and has been living in the villa in Lake Garda.
Vardy shares his home with his wife, Rebekah, which was invaded by a gang of three thieves while he was playing a match in Rome.
The thieves broke in through a window and escaped with a stash of Vardy’s belongings, including jewellery, cash and a Patek Philippe watch.
A source for the police told the Daily Mail: “We think the gang have been watching him and his family and timed the break-in to coincide when he was away in Rome.”
Captain Giacomo Tessarolo, of the Salo police, told the Mail: “We have CCTV which shows one individual entering the house through a window that was left open.
“They were on the premises for several minutes before escaping with the watch and several other high-value items. There was a woman inside, not his wife but the babysitter.
“The theft was discovered when some of Vardy's friends returned to the house and found items on the floor, and it had evidently been broken into.”
Jamie Vardy isn’t the only footballer to have been burgled – other high-profile examples include Raheem Sterling and Alexander Isak.
The incident came after the footballer transferred from Leicester in the summer after playing for 13 seasons and signing on a 12 month contract with the Serie A side.
Since signing, Vardy has played for Cremonese eight times and scored twice. In Sunday’s match, Vardy wore a shirt emblazoned with his wife’s name, “Becky”, on the back as part of a domestic violence campaign.
The footballer moved to his £2 million villa in Salo, which is located approximately 50 miles from Cremona, where he plays, in the summer.
The stunning villa has a view of the lake, and both he and his wife, Rebekah, have been spotted in the town enjoying dinner and reportedly learning the language.
Cremona is known for making violins, which featured in the background of Vardy’s first interview with the club’s media outlet.
Surrounded by the instruments and speaking from an auditorium, Vardy said: “What an incredible place this - there are violins here that are from the 15th and 16th century - they have to be played once a week to keep them in tune, and they look brand new, I couldn't get my mind around it.
He added: “It’s been absolutely brilliant. I was told it was quite a quiet city, which, I’ll be honest, for the past few days, it's not been that quiet.
“But it has been really enjoyable meeting the fans. Whether I’ve gone out for dinner or lunch, getting to explore, going to the top of the tower was unbelievable with the panoramic views but the football side, language is difficult at the moment, but the one thing that's always constant is that football is its own language.
“You can always talk through football, so being able to train with the lads and being made to feel welcome, it's been a great start and definitely a great first week.”
Vardy thanked his family for their support, saying: “They are everything, I wouldn't be able to do what I do if I didn't have the support of all them. We know it's going to be different and difficult to start with.
“It's a challenge we are already for, and it's really exciting. They can learn a new language, and it's something we are looking forward to.”
