It might be a case of more trophies, more problems for Leo Messi.
Argentine outlet Clarín reported that in Thursday’s early hours, two gunmen fired 14 shots into Único, a grocery store in Rosario owned by the family of Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo.
While no one was injured in the incident, the perpetrators were also alleged to have left a threatening note reading “Messi, we are waiting for you. [Rosario Mayor Pablo] Javkin is a narco, he is not going to take care of you,” at the scene.
Neither Messi nor his wife have offered public comment, but Javkin — who has been calling for more police enforcement amid drug-related violence in Argentina’s third-largest city — called the incident “treacherous.”
“What more important news can be generated if one wants to create chaos in the city?” Javkin said to reporters gathered in front of the store.
Per ESPN, Rosario prosecutor Federico Rébola said an investigation was still in its earliest stages, and that Messi’s in-laws had never been targeted in this manner before.
There are disagreements as to how secure Rosario is at the moment. Javkin said that local and national police were not doing a good enough job, while Santa Fe provincial security minister Claudio Brilloni told reporters that the area had patrols “like every day.”
“It is a serious fact that we have to work on it not only in prevention but also in research,” added Brilloni.
Federal government security minister Aníbal Fernández was even less surprised, saying that incidents like this have been happening in Rosario “for the last 20 years.”
Messi is a frequent visitor to Rosario and owns a home in the city’s suburbs, but fortunately was nowhere near the city when the shooting took place. Paris Saint-Germain posted a photo of him at the team’s training session Thursday. However, he could be back in the country soon enough, as Argentina will host friendlies against Panama and Curacao later this month (though notably not in Rosario).
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