Brazilian right-back Emerson Royal, a footballer for English Tottenham, escaped unharmed from an attempted assault with shots at dawn this Friday, while enjoying his vacation in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo.
"It was a difficult moment, but now I'm going to rest and then I'll position myself," the former Real Betis and Barcelona player told reporters, after filing a complaint at the police station. The attempted robbery took place outside a nightclub in the municipality of Americana (southeast) where Emerson had met with some family and friends.
According to Emerson Aparecido de Souza, father of the Brazilian international, a suspect approached him in the parking lot to rob him at gunpoint, but a plainclothes policeman, who had approached to take a photo with his idol, tried to stop him.
That was when an exchange of fire began, in which the suspect was wounded and was later transferred to a hospital for surgery, according to the São Paulo Military Police. "At a time when the bandit was distracted, the policeman began to exchange shots with him. Everyone ran, everyone went to a corner. It was a terrible scene," the soccer player's father told local media.
Emerson Royal, born in Sao Paulo, spends a few days on vacation in his country, after a long season with Tottenham. Trained in the lower categories of Ponte Preta, he played for Atlético Mineiro before making the leap to European football, where he went through Real Betis and Barcelona, from Spain, and now defends the London team.
The 23-year-old right back has also been a regular in recent calls for the Brazilian team and is a serious candidate to be part of the final list for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which will start in November.
