Former football star faced machete gang
RONNY ROSENTHAL, the former Israeli international and Spurs footballer, was attacked by gang of armed robbers who broke into his home in North West London in the middle of the night.
Details of the robbery, which took place in May, surfaced only this week, with reports that six masked men carrying machetes broke into the ex-striker’s house in Cricklewood at around 1 am, while his family was sleeping.
Neighbours of Mr Rosenthal told the Evening Standard that the gang had raided the house to try to steal designer watches.
The footballer, who won 60 caps for Israel and played for teams including Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford during his 20-year career, reportedly told one neighbour that he and his family “were physically abused and threatened with machetes”, the Standard reported, adding that “the raiders were in and out in five minutes.” Another neighbour told the paper that Mr Rosenthal had been “punched in the face”.
Last week, two Arsenal footballers, Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolašinac, were attacked outside the latter’s house in Hampstead, with knife-wielding thieves on mopeds attempting to steal the player’s watches.
The footballers managed to drive off, but were pursued by the moped gang, who attempted to break the car windows with stones and bricks. The chase ended on Golders Green Road when the footballers abandoned their vehicle and sought shelter in Likya, a Turkish restaurant frequented by the pair. The gang left the area minutes before the police showed up. Regarding the robbery of the Rosenthals, a spokesperson for the Met police confirmed that officers were investigating
“an aggravated burglary in Cricklewood that took place on May
11”.