Lionel Messi got a threatening note following a retail attack in his birthplace of Rosario, Argentina, on Thursday, according to numerous media agencies.
According to reports, someone opened fire on the Unico supermarket, which is run by Lionel Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo’s family.
The building’s front door and shutters were struck by 14 bullets. Witnesses observed two individuals riding a motorcycle away from the incident. The attack didn’t result in any injuries.
The assailants wrote a note in Spanish on a piece of cardboard addressed to the La Albiceleste and Paris Saint-Germain player that read, “Messi, we are waiting for you. (Rosario mayor Pablo) Javkin is a narco. He can not take care of you.”
The third-largest city in Argentina, Rosario, is known as the “drug capital” of the nation. There were 23 murders for every 100,000 inhabitants in 2021.
After the shooting, Mayor Javkin spoke to the local media and said that while he works hard to bring about peace, there is only so much he can do to stop the violence.
He asserted that the participation of the presidents of Argentina and Santa Fe, Omar Perotti and Alberto Fernández, is necessary for the city.
“I am the mayor of the city,” he spoke in Spanish. “… I do not manage the security forces and when I asked for it they would not let me.”
There is an investigation going on. The mayor of Rosario, the largest city in Argentina’s central province of Santa Fe, is Pablo Javkin. Rosario is located 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Buenos Aires.
After the event on Thursday, Javkin addressed the media and discussed the rise in violence in Rosario as well as the lack of police and inadequate security in the area.
Javkin’s worries are not new. In a city where crime is on the rise, he had expressed his dissatisfaction earlier this week about the absence of security and requested for more police officers.
Javkin posted on Twitter: “Rosario is 300km [from Buenos Aires], it is near. We want to get all the resources against crime that Argentina has to take care of us, to protect this city that gives the country glory and science, countryside and art, federalism and union.”
Lionel Messi helped Argentina to become World Cup champions in December and was crowned FIFA’s finest male player in February.
Both Messi and his wife, who are both from Rosario and well recognized in the city.
He was named the Best FIFA Men’s Player on Monday after leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title. The footballer and his wife have been silent about the event.
Lionel Messi, who is widely regarded as the best player in soccer history, presently plays for Paris Saint-Germain and spends most of his time abroad, but he frequently travels to Rosario, where he owns a property in the neighborhood of Funes.
Amid the incident in his home town, Messi was pictured practicing with his French team on Thursday morning.
Federico Rébola, the prosecutor in Rosario, stated that the probe was “preliminary” and that officials were looking at security camera evidence. He stated that it was the first time Messi’s in-laws had ever received a threat of this nature.
It’s been suggested that Messi, 35, may decide to complete his career playing for one of the Rosario clubs, Newell’s, while he is currently renegotiating a deal with PSG that expires this year.
Lionel Messi might fly to Argentina later this month to take part in two international friendlies with the national team.
One game is on March 23 against Panama in Buenos Aires, and the other is five days later against Curacao in Santiago del Estero in the country’s north.
