Full Breakdown
Gianluigi Donnarumma and partner receive justice after 2023 Paris burglary
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The Violent Burglary
In the early hours of July 21, 2023, Italy international goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his then-fiancée Alessia Elefante were dragged from their bed in a luxury ninth-floor apartment on Avenue Montaigne, Paris. Four masked men entered via the rooftop, bound the couple at knifepoint, beat Donnarumma with knuckle-gloved fists until he bled, and choked Elefante with a phone-charging cable. The attackers stole cash, jewellery, watches and luxury bags valued at just under €1 million (?$1.1 million). Elefante later suffered a miscarriage that prosecutors attributed to the trauma of the assault.
Sentencing and Penalties
The Paris Criminal Court handed down prison terms in September 2026. Ilyas Kherbouch, 21, identified as the mastermind, received a nine-year sentence and a fine of €80,000. Moktar D was sentenced to five years, with two years suspended pending a probationary period. A third suspect, Khyan M, was acquitted. The court noted that a seven-man gang, some still unidentified, carried out the robbery in minutes.
Background and Context
At the time of the attack, Donnarumma was playing for Paris Saint-Germain; he transferred to Manchester City in 2025. The crime was described as “highly lucrative” and “extremely violent,” aimed at “its own idols.”
Official Statements and Responses
During closing arguments, the prosecutor emphasized the growing threat to high-profile residents and the need for deterrent sentences. Kherbouch apologized to police officers and the court, while Moktar D claimed he acted only as a lookout from a building opposite the apartment. The court recorded that a childhood friend of the defendants, implicated as an informant, later committed suicide in prison.
Impact and Significance
The case underscores the vulnerability of elite athletes to organized crime in affluent urban districts and marks a rare instance of a French court imposing substantial custodial terms for a celebrity-targeted burglary. The sentencing also brings closure to Donnarumma and Elefante, who have spoken publicly about the lasting physical and emotional repercussions of the attack.