Barcelona and Holland legend held at gunpoint by man demanding club contract

31 May 2023 , 19:33

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Mark van Bommel was confronted by an attacker (Image: Getty Images)

Prosecutors have heard how one of Holland's most decorated footballers was held up at gunpoint by a player who wanted a contract at Royal Antwerp FC.

Mark van Bommel, 46, won 79 caps for his country and played in their last World Cup final appearance in 2010. During his career, the midfielder also won eight league titles across stints in Holland, Spain, and Germany, also famously lifting the Champions League title with Barcelona in 2006.

Since 2022, he's been in charge at Antwerp, winning the Belgian Cup with the outfit this season. But back in October last year, he was approached in a car park by a 25-year-old gunman.

Van Bommel was left "fearing for his life" after being confronted, with his attacker allegedly demanding a professional football contract. The Belgian Public Prosecutor's Office have deemed that the man, Jamaleh Haban M, was aiming to extort himself a contract with the former Barcelona midfielder's club.

Haban initially claimed to be just 17-years-old to prosecutors, who have since deemed him to be 25. He had previously attached an Apple AirTag Tracker on Youri Tielemans car, a Porsche Panamera, in order to track his whereabouts.

The confrontation duly took place outside of the manager's apartment, where he used a torch to temporarily blind Van Bommel. But the man who also represented PSV, Bayern Munich and AC Milan as a player was able to evade Haban by quickly reversing away from him before driving off.

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Van Bommel won the 2006 Champions League with Barcelona

Subsequent investigations into Haban's phone uncovered an audio message that Van Bommel had been due to receive. According to Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf, the threat read: "Listen Mark, your family's life depends on this, let me become a professional player. Don't go to the police, we will kill you and your family. We know where you live."

Van Bommel's lawyer has claimed his client remains mentally scarred by the incident: "We cannot laugh about that. The impact of these facts cannot be underestimated," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "My client is used to some things, but not this. He no longer dares to sleep at home and lives in a hotel."

Van Bommel is married to Andra, daughter of former UAE manager Bert van Marwijk, and the pair have three children together. He is now asking for a sum £4,300 in damages.

Fraser Watson