Footballer Lionel Messi has been threatened by two gunmen on motorcycles who opened fire on a supermarket owned by Antonella Roccuzzo, Lionel Messi’s wife, in Rosario, Argentina’s Santa Fe region.
According to police, two males on a motorcycle fired at least a dozen shots into a Unico branch in the early hours. Many consider Messi to be the greatest football player of all time, particularly after leading Argentina to its first World Cup victory in 36 years in Qatar in December.
Local media reported, Thursday, that the gunmen left a handwritten threat note on the door of the supermarket for the seven-time World Player of the Year. The note said:
- “Messi, we are waiting for you, (Pablo) Javkin (the mayor) is also a narco (drug trafficker), he is not going to take care of you.”
Investigation is ongoing: In Rosario, prosecutor Federico Rebola said the investigation was “preliminary” and that officials were reviewing security camera footage.
This was the first time Messi’s in-laws had received a threat of this nature, he continued. Celia Arena, the Justice Minister for Santa Fe province, where Rosario is located, described the assault as “terrorism” carried out by a “mafia” group to intimidate the general public.
“The aim is to deliberately cause terror in the population and discourage those of us who are fighting against criminal violence, knowing that it will be an event of global significance,” Arena wrote in a social media post.
Reactions trail the development: Javkin, a centre-left politician in opposition to the ruling Peronist coalition, appeared to throw suspicion of complicity for the attack on both criminal gangs and federal security officials.
“I doubt everyone, even those who are supposed to protect us,” Javkin said in an interview with a local radio station.
He said that he had recently had very strong discussions with members of the federal security forces over the past couple of weeks demanding that they crack down on the city’s crime.
What you should know: Messi currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain and spends much of his time overseas, though he often visits Rosario where he has a home in the suburb of Funes.
