Grigor Dimitrov robbed of £62k watch by ‘professional thieves’ in Barcelona
Grigor Dimitrov has become the latest victim of “professional thieves” who are operating in Barcelona as the tennis star has been robbed of a £62,000 luxury watch.
The world No 25 was on his way home from practice for the Barcelona Open last Friday when he fell victim to a well-run operation from a gang of thieves.
The criminals were following the Bulgarian on motorbikes through the streets of the Spanish city, but they were undetected by the tennis player. One of the thieves then suddenly stopped beside Dimitrov in Avenida de Sarriá and “accidentally” bumped into his side mirror.
The natural instinct for any driver is to stick your arm out of the window to readjust the mirror and that was when the thieves struck as they snatched Dimitrov’s Swiss Bianchet watch, valued at $76,000 (£62,000), from his wrist.
Swiss Bianchet watches are similar to Richard Mille watches – which have been worn by Rafael Nadal over the years – and although they are a relatively new to the market, they have already established themselves as one of the top luxury watch makers in modern times.
Dimitrov was unharmed during the incident and didn’t get out of the car or call the policy, but the 31-year-old drove straight to the Mossos d’Esquadra police station to file a complaint.
It is being reported that other tennis players competing at the Barcelona Open have also been targetted, but police say it is not “the usual local thieves” as the group have travelled to the city especially for the tournament.
Although Mossos d’Esquadra has opened an investigation, no one has been arrested in connection with the incident while Dimitrov’s watch remains missing.
He gave an update in an Instagram Story, saying: “Thank you everyone for the kind messages the last couple of days. The most important thing is I wasn’t harmed and I am ready to compete this week in Barcelona.”
Dimitrov, who sported a red Swiss Bianchet during last week’s matches at the Monte Carlo Masters, will return to action on Wednesday as he will take on either Spain’s Albert Ramos Vinolas or Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez in the second round of the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona.
Last year four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel also fell victim to a similar tactic during the Spanish Grand Prix as he was robbed of his bag and then chased the thieves on a scooter through the streets of Barcelona.
The German tracked the stolen goods by using the GPS signal from his AirPods headphones that were inside the bag. Although he managed to locate the headphones via the Find My iPhone app, the bag and remaining contents were never found.
