An accusation has been made against Liverpool star Cody Gakpo regarding renting apartments that are ‘rat-infested’ and ‘not suited for humans…

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The Dutch star, who is on around £130,000 per week, has used his riches to invest in property in five cities in his homeland through his company Samaritan.

Via letting agents, Gakpo charges rent of up to €875 a month (£754) for what is described as a damp basement flat riddled with mould, and €850 a month (£733) for another apartment said to be so tiny that tenants have to walk sideways to get to the front door, reports the Mirror.

The average rent per month in this area is €560 (£500). Furious residents have blasted conditions in some homes, which they say are “not fit for human habitation”, have structural problems, and vermin infestations, while the quality of repairs have also been labelled substandard.

The 24-year-old is listed as the sole shareholder of Samaritan, which owns properties in Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Roermond, Weert and Geleen.

Gakpo is a devout Christian and leads a Bible group in the Dutch squad that conducts prayer meetings before every international.

However, he is facing increasing criticism at home after serious allegations were made about his property portfolio by regional newspaper De Limburger.

It was reported that Gakpo uses the services of Stefan Stals, an employee of finance company Elevate Finance, who deals with tenants’ issues and collects rent.

Stals denied there was an issue with rats and insisted maintenance issues with the properties had been dealt with appropriately.

However, he admitted that he had only checked the condition of four of the 11 flats that Gakpo owns in Roermond. Stals also conceded there had been an infestation of mice.

He said: “There was nuisance from mice. We had those exterminated. The maintenance condition of the property is good.”

However, pictures taken by De Limburger appear to show evidence of serious neglect in several of the apartment buildings, with dead mice left to decay on dirty stairwells, mouldy walls, loose cables and gaps in plasterwork.

Resident Ricardo Silva, pointing to a gap in his ceiling, said: “A rat fell down through there into my living room. It scared me to death. I saw it running. It was a rat with a long tail. It was definitely not a mouse.”

Another resident, Dewi Kouwenberg, said: “You see the gnaw marks on my sofa here? I don’t actually dare to be here.”

Legal letters sent to Elevate Finance asking to improve the condition of homes have so far not been replied to. That is despite some residents now refusing to store foods in cupboards because of the absence of effective pest control.

Kees Ploegsma, Gakpo’s football agent, has declined to comment on the issue, saying responsibility for the upkeep of the player’s properties lay with the management company acting on the player’s behalf.

Liverpool FC believe it is a personal business matter for Gakpo and have therefore declined to comment.