Former Barcelona and Real Betis defender Emerson Royal suffered a frightening incident during his vacation back home in Brazil. He was the subject of an attempted armed robbery but managed to escape unharmed after a 29-shot shootout involving police.
“What happened was a worthy of a horror movie, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Emerson’s father told Globo Esporte in comments carried by Marca. “When the shots started, everyone started running from one side to the other.”
The incident occurred in Sao Paulo, Emerson’s home city. The 23-year-old is on vacation following a successful season in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur that saw them finish fourth in the table to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Emerson joined Tottenham last summer from Barcelona, who he had just joined from Betis in a complicated ownership agreement. Emerson came to Europe in 2019 from Atletico Mineiro, who he joined the previous year from his local side Ponte Preta.
Emerson has earned six caps for the Brazilian national team and will hope to be in contention to earn a place at the upcoming World Cup. But there is quite a lot of competition in Tite’s squad.
