Sampdoria defender Cristiano Piccini revealed that he was attacked and robbed by two fellow Italians whilst on holiday in Ibiza this week.
The 31-year-old centre back joined Andrea Pirlo’s side on a free transfer back in January following his exit from German side FC Magdeburg, penning a six-month deal in Liguria. He made 11 appearances for Sampdoria, missing a few matches through a hamstring injury.
Sampdoria struggled to show their best in Serie B under Pirlo this season and fell at the first hurdle in the play-offs, falling to the City Group backed Palermo in a 2-0 loss last month. The former Juventus and Milan midfielder is expected to remain at the helm for the coming 2024-25 season.
Sampdoria’s Piccini robbed
Writing on his Instagram page, Piccini shared his experience of being attacked and robbed in Ibiza, accusing two unnamed Italians of carrying out the violent crime, warning fans about visiting the island.
“Hello everyone, I’m writing to you to prevent this and so that what happened to me today doesn’t happen to you. I was walking around Marina di Botafoch, in front of the Ibiza Gran Hotel, I was attacked by two people at 3.15pm, Italians, due to their accent I’m sure they were Neapolitans.
“They attacked me from behind and stole my watch, I reacted quickly and managed to get there to the thief who was getting on the motorbike. His ‘friend’ tried to run over my wife and then tried to run over me to make me let his partner go.
“I couldn’t get my watch back. The most important thing is that my family and I are fine, without a scratch.
“But the thing that annoys me most is this island, which is home for me, is full of these scoundrels, who act without control and without scruples in every circumstance, not caring if you are with children or not. Not to mention the people who witnessed the theft and didn’t bother to help.
“However, if you’re thinking of coming to Ibiza, be careful what you wear, nowadays we can’t feel comfortable anywhere.”
In a later statement, the Sampdoria defender apologised for accusing the two thieves of being from Napoli.
“I apologize to the Neapolitan people for having brought up the issue, it was not my intention to lump everyone together, I have many Neapolitan friends and they’re a people that I love, full of respectable and big-hearted people. My intention with previous stories is to prevent such incidents.”
They was pretending to tackle him saying Maradona Maradona