Night of terror! Gulácsi and family held at gunpoint in armed home robbery before Napoli clash
Villarreal goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi has been ruled out of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Napoli after suffering a terrifying armed robbery at his home in the early hours of the morning, with his wife and two young children inside the house at the time.
Details: According to reports, the 36 year old Hungarian and his wife were held at gunpoint as the robbers demanded access to a safe, cash and jewelry. Nobody was physically injured, but the psychological impact was severe: Gulácsi has barely slept since the incident and, in agreement with the club, was left out of the squad for the visit of Napoli, with Luiz Júnior taking his place in goal at La Cerámica.
The robbery took place at the family's home in the Monasterios residential development in Puzol, near Valencia. Villarreal confirmed that the relevant authorities were immediately notified and are now carrying out an investigation into the incident, though few details about the attackers have emerged so far.
Sadly, this is not an isolated case for the club. In previous seasons, Villarreal players such as Karl Toko Ekambi and André Zambo Anguissa suffered similar ordeals, while Valencia players including Ezequiel Garay, Gabriel Paulista and Geoffrey Kondogbia have also reported break ins at their homes, underlining a troubling pattern of targeted attacks on footballers in the region.
The timing could hardly be worse for the Yellow Submarine, who are looking to bounce back from Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid and secure their first Champions League win of the season. Gulácsi had only recently established himself as first choice under Íñigo Pérez, having arrived from RB Leipzig in August after eleven years in Germany and 362 appearances for the club.
It's worth noting that the club and the goalkeeper jointly agreed that his emotional wellbeing came before sporting considerations, a decision that speaks volumes about how seriously Villarreal are treating the welfare of a player who is also a husband and father first.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
