Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko was the victim of mistaken identity after being stopped at gunpoint by police in Italy.
The incident is said to have taken place at the Porta Garibaldi area in the city of Milan on July 3. Police had set up a roadblock following a shootout between two gangs with Bakayoko stopped and searched by police at the checkpoint in a terrifying ordeal.
Video footage shows the central midfielder - who spent last season on loan at Italian giants Milan, where he made 18 first-team appearances – being restrained by an officer and pushed against the side of a police car at gunpoint. He's then searched before the officer in question appears to realise his mistake.
The officer appears to empty Bakayoko's pockets and place the contents on the roof of the police car, before two other officers – who have their guns drawn – point towards his car, where another occupant was being watched by a cop. The video footage cuts off at the point where the police appear to realise that they have made an error, possibly after Bakayoko explained who he was to clarify that this was a case of mistaken identity.
A police statement has said, as quoted by Gazzetta dello Sport: "The police action was triggered because Bakayoko and the other passenger corresponded perfectly, by chance, to the descriptions we had, and obviously it ended when it was realised that we had stopped a person who did not have anything to do with it (the crime)."
Bakayoko, 27, joined Chelsea in the summer of 2017 in a landmark £40million deal from Monaco and made 43 first-team appearances in his debut season at Stamford Bridge, helping the club to win that season's FA Cup crown. However, despite playing the full 90 minutes of that showpiece victory over Manchester United – the central midfielder has not featured for the Blues in a competitive match in the four years since, as he was loaned out multiple times by Chelsea.
Bakayoko spent the 2018-19 campaign on loan at Milan before returning to Monaco for a season-long loan deal the following year. He spent the 2020-21 season at Napoli before more recently returning to the Milanese giants.
A report in French media outlet Foot Mercato claims that the 27-year-old has agreed to join Marseille on a four-year agreement. That will bring his five-year stint at the Blues to an end, although there is also said to interest from Spanish club Valencia in his signature.
Bakayoko – who was capped once by France ahead of his 2017 move to Stamford Bridge – was a mainstay in Antonio Conte's side at Chelsea but was not part of the plans of subsequent coaches at the club.
Mirror Football has contacted both Chelsea and Milan for comment on the incident and is awaiting responses.
