Wife of Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz robbed at knifepoint in own home

Premier League star Roque Santa Cruz's wife Giselle was robbed at knifepoint after masked raiders burst into their luxury home.

She was with their two young children when the gang forced her to hand over jewellery worth thousands of pounds.

The ex-beauty queen, 24, was not hurt but she was left badly shaken. Her son and daughter, both under five, were not thought to have been threatened.

Blackburn striker Santa Cruz, 27, was away for the match against Portsmouth when the three men struck at the £1.75million house.

Friends said the Paraguayan international is "distraught". One revealed: "He's very upset and so is his wife. It was a terrible ordeal for her. He's just so grateful Giselle and the kids weren't hurt."

The modern house in Bowdon, Cheshire, was hit by the robbers around 6pm on Saturday.

It is less than a mile from that of England striker Emile Heskey, where earlier this year raiders held a knife to the throat of his terrified fiancee Chantelle Tagoe, 25. Two burglars wearing ski masks climbed the security gates of the Wigan player's home in Hale before kicking down the front door and pulling out a blade.

They told the mum-of-two to hand over her jewellery then fled in the couple's BMW X5. Police say there is nothing to suggest the two robberies are linked.

There have been a number of other raids on wealthy footballers.

Liverpool's Brazilian star Lucas Leiva, 21, became the ninth player at the club to have his home burgled in just two years when thieves struck last month. England star Steven Gerrard was also targeted when masked raiders took thousands of pounds of wife Alex Curran's jewellery from their Merseyside mansion in December last year.

Santa Cruz signed for Blackburn Rovers in a £3.3million deal from German side Bayern Munich in July last year.

He has recently agreed a new four-year deal with the Lancashire club. Blackburn Rovers declined to comment on the robbery, saying the matter was in the hands of the police.

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