Manchester United's Harry Maguire was told that bombs would explode at his family home unless he stood down as the club's captain.
Cheshire Constabulary were called out to the central defender's house in Wilmslow following the Old Trafford club's heavy 4-0 loss at Anfield on Tuesday evening in the Premier League. Police officers and a specialist police explosives dog were sent to the property, where the England star lives with his fiancee Fern Hawkins and their daughters and carried out a search, but nothing was found.
It has been reported by The Mirror that the 29-year-old was told as part of the threat that the devices would be detonated if he kept the captain's armband at United. Detectives are now searching for the person who made the threat, which is believed to have come via email.
