Man City star Gianluigi Donnarumma and his pregnant girlfriend ‘hit, bound and threatened with a knife by robbers while sleeping in their Paris flat’
Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his then-pregnant girlfriend, Alessia Elefante, were beaten, bound and threatened with a knife during a violent break-in at their Paris flat in 2023, a French court has heard. The incident occurred while the couple, who have since married and had a child, were asleep at their home on the luxury Avenue Montaigne, when Donnarumma was then playing for PSG. A Paris criminal court is holding a two-day hearing into the robbery, which has left the couple, now settled in Manchester, "still profoundly shocked", according to their lawyers.
Court documents describe how four intruders climbed a ladder onto the roof and entered through a balcony window, waking Donnarumma by hitting him with a knuckle duster before demanding watches, cash and a safe code. Elefante said she was also struck, including while telling attackers she was pregnant, before handing over jewellery, a Cartier watch and €2,000 in cash. The gang fled with keys to a Mercedes and a Lamborghini alongside the valuables. Several suspects are already serving sentences, including two minors jailed for three and four years, while alleged masterminds Ilyas Kherbouch and Khyan Mamouni, both already imprisoned on other matters, deny the charges; a fourth suspect died by suicide in 2024.
- Donnarumma and pregnant partner attacked in 2023 Paris flat robbery
- Robbers stole watches, cash, jewellery and supercar keys
- Paris trial under way; some accomplices already jailed, two deny charges
New here? Start with this
Manchester City's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, an Italian international, and his wife Alessia Elefante are at the centre of a French court case examining a violent robbery at their Paris home in 2023, when Donnarumma played for Paris Saint-Germain. Court proceedings are now revisiting exactly what happened that night and who was responsible.
The case involves several defendants, including two young offenders already sentenced to prison terms, and two men, Ilyas Kherbouch and Khyan Mamouni, who are accused of masterminding the break-in but deny the charges; another suspect linked to the case died in 2024. Donnarumma and Elefante have since married, had a child, and moved to Manchester following his transfer to Manchester City.
The matter is significant both because of Donnarumma's profile as one of football's leading goalkeepers and because the case highlights the risks of burglary and violent crime targeting high-profile figures at their homes, an issue that has affected several footballers and celebrities in France in recent years.