Ex-Nigerian international footballer, Nwankwo Kanu has been robbed of £8,000 on his way to honour a novelty FIFA Legend match. The Arsenal legend left London for Russia but his bag was tampered with and the cash stolen from his luggage as he arrived in Moscow ahead of World Cup.
“Arsenal legend Nwankwo Kanu had £8,200 in cash stolen from his suitcase in Moscow after he arrived from London,” reported Evening Standard.
Russian police said it was taken by two baggage handlers at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Kanu, 41, reported the money missing when he reached Kaliningrad, where he was playing in a World Cup curtainraiser game organised by FIFA.
Lt-Col Irina Volk, spokeswoman for the Russian Interior Ministry, said the workers were dealing with the baggage from a London to Moscow flight.
Kanu, travelling on a British passport, had appealed for help to police in Kaliningrad, she said.
“The stolen cash was removed and will soon be returned to the owner,” she said.
The baggage handlers, aged 30 and 36, face criminal investigation and could be sent to jail for up to six years.
Kanu played alongside ex-Manchester United and England star Wes Brown in a FIFA legends team against a Russian legends side.
The ex-Arsenal man, a former Nigerian international, did not mention the theft in speaking to the media in the Baltic city, where England will play on 28 June.