Jack Grealish‘s mansion was raided for £1million worth of jewellery by thieves on Boxing Day in Cheshire.
The Manchester City footballer, 28, who has since broke his silence following the scare, was playing against Everton at Goodison Park at the time of the burglary, while it is thought his relatives were at his home watching him.
And The Sun has now revealed that the ‘burglary gang attempted to raid the mansion one month before the attack but were scared off when they spotted a police car nearby’.
According to the publication, they first targeted his home while he played against RB Leipzig on November 28 in the Champions League.
The burglars were said to have pulled out of the original attack after discovering Jack and his girlfriend Sasha Attwood, 27, was yet to move into the mansion.
Jack Grealish’s, 28, mansion was raided for £1million worth of jewellery by thieves on Boxing Day in Cheshire
The Manchester City footballer was playing against Everton at Goodison Park at the time of the burglary, while it is thought his relatives were at his home watching him
And had also fled the scene ‘when a police car cruised by as they waited down a quiet village near Knutsford, Cheshire.’
Jack recently broke his silence on his devastation over the ‘traumatic’ incident which left his family terrified, as he insisted their safety is his number one priority.
Sasha was with Jack’s family watching his match at their home and hit a panic button when the burglars struck.
It is thought 10 relatives – including Sasha, his parents, two sisters and brother – were at the property at the time of the burglary.
Sharing a picture of himself with his dog, Jack addressed the incident for the first time on Instagram on Sunday: ‘I can’t begin to explain how devastated I am over the burglary that took place at my home a few days ago.
‘My family mean the world to me and nothing is more important than ensuring their safety. This has been a traumatic experience for all of us, I am just so grateful that nobody was hurt.
‘I have had so many amazing experiences and achievements over the last 12 months, but to be honest the best year of my life in football now doesn’t feel like something I can celebrate.
‘The people that commit these terrible crimes have no idea of the damage they cause to peoples lives. I hope they are found and brought to justice so no other family has to go through what we have.
It has now been revealed that they ‘first targeted his home while he played against RB Leipzig on November 28 in the Champions League’ (pictured during the match)
The burglars were said to have pulled out of the original attack after discovering Jack and his girlfriend Sasha Attwood , 27, was yet to move into the mansion
The footballer has since broke his silence on his devastation over the ‘traumatic’ incident and the model re-shared his post alongside four red heart emojis and a praying hand emoji
Jack’s loved ones were left terrified by the raid and he has insisted their safety is his number one priority (pictured last year)
It is thought 10 relatives – including girlfriend Sasha, his parents, two sisters and brother – were at the property when it was targeted and someone hit panic buttons inside when the burglars struck
Jack was playing in Manchester City’s 3-1 away win against Everton during the time of the break-in
‘I appreciate the messages from everyone and the support from my friends, teammates and the club.
‘On a more positive note, I’d like to thank everyone for their support throughout this past year, I wish you and your family a happy 2024’
Jack’s family were forced to run and hide for cover inside the £5.6million mansion that Jack only moved into before Christmas, while police told neighbours to lock their doors and stay in their homes.
Cops, fearing they could face a potential hostage situation, rushed to the scene and even had a helicopter search the area, but the offenders were able to escape with £1million worth of jewellery.
A source told the The Sun: ‘The family are really shaken. The gang took a lot of watches and jewellery.
‘They executed their raid when Manchester City were playing live on TV and all his family had gathered downstairs to cheer him on.
‘No one was injured but there was a lot of panic. Everyone was terrified as they were all so vulnerable.
‘It’s an enormous property, so it is understandable why no one heard anything at first. It was also the first time the family had visited so they were unfamiliar with the property.
‘When the dogs went mad, and they could hear people creeping about, they pressed the security panic alarm.’
Police investigating the raid are looking at the possibility that the gang were given inside information about his whereabouts.
Burglars struck the Manchester City winger’s home in Cheshire on December 26, while he was playing against Everton at Goodison Park.
Authorities are supposedly looking into whether the gang ‘had any inside information’ about the fact he would not be home at the time.
A source told MailOnline that such crimes are often carried out by ‘serious organised crime networks’ who will have ‘huge pools of intelligence about what players are doing and when’.
They added that gangs will pay ‘big money’ to people that could tip them off with inside information and help organise a raid.
Jack Grealish, pictured on Instagram with fiancée Sasha, poses in his rose gold Rolex
The source said: ‘One theory being looked at is that removal workers were followed during the days that Jack was moving into the property.
‘There were vehicles coming and going for days on end in the run-up to Jack and his girlfriend getting the keys.
‘For burglars looking to carry out a raid, this is like red meat. Police will therefore be working backwards to see if there are any clues at all in the days leading up to the raid.
‘Another area they will look to get to the bottom of is whether the gang had any inside information.
‘These raids are carried out by serious organised crime networks, often based overseas, who have huge pools of intelligence about what players are doing and when.
‘They pay big money for tip-offs to help carry out raids like this.’
MailOnline also learned that Jack’s fiancée has been left ‘terrified’ by the Boxing Day raid – and no longer feels safe on her own in the property.
A source said: ‘Sasha is in pieces over this. Sasha has had to deal with death threats and online abuse over and over again during the time she’s been with Jack.
‘But this feels very different. For people to come into her new home in this way has left her terrified. She’s not been on her own since it happened and right now doesn’t want to be.
‘Jack is particularly angry about the impact this has had on Sasha. They’ve been together nearly half of his life and he loves her to bits.
‘He will now do anything to protect her. They’ve got their dream home but it means nothing if she’s not happy and Jack wants her to feel as safe in it as possible.’
Details of the anguish Sasha is feeling comes as police continue to investigate the Boxing Day incident.
Officers are under big pressure to find who is responsible, because hardly any cases involving Premier League players end up being solved.
‘Cops want to find who did this,’ our source said. ‘Again and again burglars who target players just then seem to vanish off the face of the earth with the items stolen never to be seen again.
‘Detectives have told Jack and his management that they are determined this case will be different, and that they will do all they can to catch the gang behind it.’
MailOnline previously revealed how the raid could have been carried out by a South American gang – and that those behind it may have already fled the country.
We also told how cops are probing whether burglars tracked removal vans which were coming and going from the Grealish’s Cheshire mansion.
The gang is based in an area called the ‘Golden Triangle’, repeatedly earmarked in the last three years by professional gangs from Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Peru.
Experts say they are likely to have flown into Britain especially for the raid and may have also returned to South America already.
Up to 500 burglars from those south American countries travel to the UK every year to target homes in Cheshire, the Home Counties, London and Surrey.
Former Met detective Peter Bleksley said: ‘This looks and sounds like a gang from South America who have come here to burgle. The area is exactly where they operate for a start.’
