Watch: Moment Jack Grealish appears to be told of £1 million burglary that left family shaken

Jack Grealish’s property was burgled and thieves stole £1 million worth of watches and jewellery on Wednesday night as a video appears to show the moment where he was informed of the break-in.

Grealish played the full 90 minutes at Goodison Park while his Cheshire mansion was being targeted, adding to the number of footballers who have been victims of break-ins while playing.

Footage from Amazon Prime shows Grealish in conversation with Manchester City’s head of player support, Manel Estiarte, in the aftermath of the 3-1 win. Estiarte does not normally enter the field of play after matches and usually stands by the tunnel area. Grealish appears concerned before he then leaves the pitch for the dressing room.

A panic button was pushed and an emergency unit responded, with a police helicopter also deployed.

Cheshire Police said: “At around 9.50pm on Wednesday December 27 police were called to reports of a burglary.

“The caller reported that a number of items had been stolen.

“Officers supported by police dogs and 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.

“Anyone with any information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Cheshire Police.”

The latest incident is likely to lead to a reviews of security among players at their homes. The Sun newspaper reported that a gang took watches and jewellery worth £1 million and that family members in the property were terrified after hearing people enter the home.

Experts fear player could be killed

High-profile Premier League players have been targeted by burglars on a number of occasions in recent years, with some of them in their homes at the time of the attacks.

Raheem Sterling flew home from the World Cup last year after his home was broken into. Dele Alli was assaulted by a gang who entered his house.

Joao Cancelo was assaulted during an attack on his home just after Christmas in 2021. He wanted to play immediately after the attack but later told reporters: “It was horrific. It terrorised my whole family.”

Pep Guardiola, the City manager, will make a late call on Grealish’s availability for Sheffield United.

“First of all with what happened with the family inside, it was what it is today in the modern days with many things happening,” Guardiola said. “It was a bad moment for him and his family but fortunately the family was not damaged with the people inside.”

Security experts fear a footballer will eventually be a victim of a violent attack similar to George Harrison’s stabbing unless they start taking personal protection more seriously.

Alex Bomberg, chairman of Intelligent Protection International, believes there is more that high-profile sportsmen can do, from keeping their assets away from the public eye to having tighter security around their property.

In 1999, the ex-Beatle Harrison was attacked by an intruder in his Oxfordshire home and Bomberg’s view is that a major incident may happen without players taking the right steps.

“In Europe, with high-profile people and footballers it is taken more seriously,” he said. “Some of the failures are low-level failures as people have been ill-advised. It is not about throwing money at it, it is the layers of security working and interacting with each other rather than being disjointed.

“It is how someone might get killed. There was an attack on George Harrison and they both ended up in a fight with the intruder and that was 30 years ago. You have to learn from these things.”