Donnarumma and pregnant girlfriend bound and knifed in £430,000 Paris robbery, court hears

Gianluigi Donnarumma and his then-pregnant girlfriend Alessia Elefante were punched, bound and threatened with a knife during a violent robbery at their Paris flat in 2023, a French court heard this week. The attackers broke into the couple’s Avenue Montaigne apartment and fled with £430,000 worth of luxury items, including watches, jewellery, designer handbags, cash, and the keys to a Mercedes and a Lamborghini.

Donnarumma, now 27 and playing for Manchester City after a £26 million move from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, was asleep when the intruders entered. According to a witness statement read in court, he was woken by a man hushing him before being punched in the face and threatened with a blade. The attackers demanded his watches, and Donnarumma directed them to an Audemars Piguet on the dressing table.

Elefante told investigators she was also woken and assaulted. She handed over a Cartier watch, jewellery and €2,000 in cash. When pressed for the code to a safe, she said she did not know it and that it was empty. “They got angry thinking that I was lying,” she told detectives. “They pulled me by the hair and one of them hit me on the thighs. I said I was pregnant but they continued.” Donnarumma subsequently provided the safe code, only for the robbers to confirm it was indeed empty.

Police established that four attackers gained entry by climbing a ladder onto the roof, crossing to a balcony and smashing through a window. Two of the intruders, who were under 18 at the time, have already received jail sentences of three and four years at a youth court.

Ilyas Kherbouch, 21, and Khyan Mamouni, both currently imprisoned, are accused of orchestrating the robbery from their cells. Both deny any involvement. A fourth defendant, Moktar Diop, 24, is also named in the proceedings.

Donnarumma, who is not expected to appear in court in person at any stage of the trial, and Elefante are now married and have a son named Leo.