Burglary at Victor Lindelof’s Home: Avoidable?

The football community has seen many burglaries with the likes of Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez being burgled while they were playing. Home safety is a top priority and must not be compromised at any time. In this blog, we share our home safety tips and steps to ensure the safety of yourself and your loved ones.

On the 19th of January, Victor Lindelof’s house had a break-in during Manchester United’s Premier League match against Brentford. While the footballer played the whole game and Manchester United won 3-1, his wife and children were home, hiding in a room before the intruders entered his house. 

A Manchester United statement read: 

“We can confirm that a break-in occurred at Victor Lindelof’s house during the away game against Brentford.”

“His family, who were at home at the time, were unhurt but clearly shaken. This was a distressing experience for them, and for Victor when he learned of it after the game, and the club is providing them with our full support.”

Lindelof and his family are now back in Sweden taking some time off from this traumatic event with his wife and 3-year-old son and will miss their next match, which is completely understandable. 

But is there anything that Victor or Manchester United could have done differently to avoid this?

Although they are certainly not to blame in this situation, some steps could have been put in place to stop this happening or to deter any potential burglaries in the future. 

Hiring a Bodyguard

Now Lindelof is on around £120,000 a week. Manchester United could have ensured that Victor was safe by hiring a personal bodyguard. Protecting him as an asset at a fraction of his salary, with bodyguards only demanding £200 – £400 per day, would certainly deter anyone wanting to break into his or any other players’ house again.

Home Security 

As a famous athlete, Victor Lindelof is always in the public eye, and so is his family. Not only does this invade the public life of celebrities, but their private life also becomes a subject for the public, with their every move visible, especially when they are out of their house. This makes it even more important for them to ensure their home is safe and secure from any security breach. 

Here are 7 easy tips to burglar-proof your home and keep it safe from any break-ins or robbery attempts:

1. Set your alarms

Whenever you leave your house and before you go to sleep at night, make a habit of setting your security alarms. If you have trouble remembering things, leave a note or set reminders on your phone until it becomes a habit. It is important to invest in a good alarm system with threats to safety. There’s no point in having a house alarm system that doesn’t even go off when someone break-in. Some alarm systems have taken it a step higher, as they come with a video doorbell. This will allow you to speak to anyone who approaches your front door and make sure that you know who’s entering your house. 

2. Update locks

Another very obvious but often overlooked tip is to update your alarms regularly. This is very important if you’ve just moved into a new home, live in a posh neighbourhood or have kids who can mess around with locks. Broken locks and flimsy doors are an open invitation for burglars to break in. 

3. Lock your windows

Keeping windows open at night is an invitation for cats and flies and an easy gateway for sneaky burglars. It is especially important to keep your windows closed when you’re not home. If you need to air out your home, open up your air vents on the window or slightly open your window on its slightly open setting. 

4. Hide your valuables

Whether you’re running errands or at home, do not display your valuables in windows for people to see. Many people have their TVs, Ipads, and laptops lying in their living rooms on full display. It’s advisable to draw your curtains every night before going to sleep and hide any valuables in cupboards, drawers or even a safe if you have one.

A major thing to look out for is letterbox fishing. This is where the burglars try to fish through your letterbox to get your car keys or house keys which have been left on a side table near the front door. So, make sure to keep your car keys, house keys and any other keys away from the front door and keep them in a safe place. 

5. Don’t leave your house keys under a mat

While we are on the subject of keys, let’s also establish that it’s not safe to leave your spare house keys under the doormat. Whether it’s your front door mat or the back doormat, it’s not safe to hide your keys under a mat, accessible to any stranger. 

6. Don’t Advertise Your Absence From Home

Posting everything on your social media is not advisable when you are out on vacation. This is particularly important when you are not at home as it becomes easy for anyone to know that your house is vacant for a possible break-in. A tip would be to set your lights on a schedule and turn them on at night to give an illusion that somebody is home. 

7. Check Security Measures Regularly

Our last tip would be to check your security measures regularly. This means,

1. checking all of your locks work
2. Make sure your windows and doors are locked properly,
3. checking your house alarms work properly every couple of weeks

Following these tips can help you keep your home safe. Let us know if you have any questions or home security tips in the comments! 

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