England forward Raheem Sterling is the latest in a long list of footballers who have been targeted by criminal gangs.

The Chelsea star flew home from the World Cup in Qatar after armed intruders broke into his Surrey home while his family were inside.

Here is a look at other players who have been victims of criminal gangs.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

The then Barcelona forward had his jaw broken when he was attacked during a robbery at his home, days before he left the club to join Chelsea.

A masked gang of four threatened the former Arsenal player and his family with guns and iron bars at their Spanish home at the end of August.

The 33-year-old revealed on social media that “some violent cowards broke into our home and threatened my family and my children, just to steal some stuff”.

He added: “They injured my jaw but I will recover in no time, and thank god no one else was physically harmed.”

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The Liverpool player, his fiancée, the Little Mix star Perrie Edwards, and their one-year-old son Axel were at their home in Cheshire when burglars broke in.

Designer handbags and jewellery were said to have been taken during the raid in September.

Joao Cancelo

Manchester City’s 27-year-old defender was assaulted during a burglary at his home last December.

The Portugal international posted a picture showing the facial injuries he suffered in the attack on Instagram.

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Addressing the incident, Cancelo wrote: “Unfortunately today I was assaulted by four cowards who hurt me and tried to hurt my family.

“The most important thing for me is my family and luckily they are all OK.”

Tahith Chong

The then Manchester United winger was held at knifepoint by intruders in the middle of the night during a raid at his home in Sale, Greater Manchester, last January.

The 22-year-old, who now plays for Birmingham City, was said to have been asleep when the intruders broke in and demanded jewellery and other valuables.

Jesse Lingard

The 29-year-old was targeted last January while he was playing for Manchester United away to Aston Villa.

More than £100,000 of clothes and jewellery were reportedly stolen from his home in Greater Manchester.

Victor Lindelof

The Sweden captain was playing for Manchester United at Brentford last January when intruders broke into his family home.

His wife, Maja Nilsson Lindelof, locked herself and her children in a room and revealed that although they were “OK”, the episode was “a very traumatic and scary moment”.

United said the family was “unhurt but clearly shaken” and that Lindelof had learnt of what had happened “after the game”.

Paul Pogba

The French international player’s house was burgled while his children were at home sleeping.

The incident happened last March while he played for Manchester United against Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford in the Champions League.

Pogba offered a reward for information to help catch the raiders.

The 29-year-old, who now plays for Juventus, said on Twitter: “Last night our family’s worst nightmare was realised when our home was burglarised while our babies were sleeping in their bedroom.

“The burglars were in our home for less than five minutes but in that time they took something from us more valuable than anything we had in our home… our sense of safety and security.”

Fabinho

The Brazilian international’s home in Sefton, Merseyside, was burgled in July 2020 – while the player was celebrating Liverpool winning the Premier League.

Liverpool had been playing Chelsea at Anfield before continuing celebrations into the early hours.

But with the player not at home, jewellery and an Audi RS6 were later reported stolen from the premises. The car was later recovered in Wigan.

The burglary led to fresh warnings that criminal gangs were targeting the homes and lifestyles of multimillionaire footballers.

Ashley Cole

A man was convicted in July of breaking into former Premier League defender Ashley Cole’s home – with the star receiving threats he would have his fingers cut off.

Kurtis Dilks, 35, was part of a masked gang that smashed into the former England player’s house in January 2020.

“I was on my knees, waiting to be killed,” Cole said in footage of an interview shown at Nottingham Crown Court.

He told police he “knew” he was going to die as the raiders tied his hands behind his back despite him holding his young daughter.

Dilks was convicted alongside five others over a string of robberies and burglaries between October 2018 and January 2020.

Along with the attack on Cole, he was found guilty of conspiring to rob the wife of former Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone in May 2019 with fellow defendants Ashley Cumberpatch and Andrew Macdonald.

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