The girlfriend of Tahith Chong has recalled the horrendous ordeal of being threatened by armed raiders during a 3am attack on the Manchester United winger's home.
Three men wearing balaclavas broke in while the duo slept and stole possessions worth thousands of pounds during a robbery in late March. As reported by The Sun , the intruders made off with jewellery, watches and designer bags after holding a knife to Chong's throat and taunting him over his lack of security.
The 22-year-old was the fifth Manchester-based footballer to have his home raided since Christmas after teammates Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Victor Lindelof were among those also on the receiving end of similar robberies. Chong's girlfriend, Rianna Taylor, has opened up on the traumatic experience which involved the perpetrators threatening to "chop them up".
"I started shaking uncontrollably and thought it was a nightmare. After a few minutes I realised it was real," the nightclub performer, 24, told The Sun . "One of the men threatened us with a very large kitchen knife and another grabbed Tahith by the ankle and dragged him out of bed.
"Another was holding a baseball bat which he was waving in our faces. He was shouting, 'Where are the watches?'. They called Tahith by his nickname 'Chongy' and were demanding to know where his watches were. He was saying he didn't keep his watches at the house.
"The blokes were terrifying and there was one in particular who was about 6'4" who was menacing and seemed like the leader. They were continually threatening us, saying if they found watches and we were lying they'd chop us up. They took our phones off us, then they took my second-hand Rolex, which was worth £3,000, plus my Louis Vuitton bag."
The report adds the raid lasted for roughly 40 minutes and Chong sounded the panic alarm after the three men left. Police arrived at his home in Sale, Greater Manchester within minutes but they have not made any arrests.
The terrifying experience has left its mark on Taylor and she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder which has left her unable to sleep with the light off, having been woken up by the intruders flashing a torch in her face. She added: "I have not had a proper night's sleep since and cannot sleep with the light off. I have been diagnosed with PTSD."
Chong - who has made 16 senior appearances for United - and Taylor began speaking on social media after he spotted her at a nightclub in Birmingham. He spent the 2021/22 season on loan with Birmingham City, scoring once in 20 appearances before returning to the Red Devils after suffering a minor injury.
