In a chilling development, Argentina’s World Cup hero, Lionel Messi, has received death threats after gunmen attacked a supermarket owned by his in-laws. A note left by the gunmen read, “we’re waiting for you.”
Messi, who previously played for Barcelona in the Spanish top-league football, currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
According to the Spanish police, at least two men on a motorcycle fired a dozen shots into the supermarket in the early hours. They also left a message on a piece of cardboard that read, “Messi, we’re waiting for you. Javkin is also a drug trafficker, so he won’t take care of you.”
Pablo] Javkin is the mayor of Rosario, where Messi has a house in the suburb of Funes.
The supermarket in Rosario is owned by the family members of Messi’s wife, Antonella Roccuzzo.
According to a news report by London’s Guardian website, Prosecutor Federico Rébola in Rosario said that authorities were reviewing security camera footage and that the investigation was ‘preliminary.’ Rebola said that it was the first time Messi’s in-laws had received this kind of threat.
Celia Arena, justice minister for Santa Fe province, termed the attack an act of ‘terrorism’ by a ‘mafia’ group.
News agency AP reported that Javkin visited the supermarket and lashed out at federal authorities over what he called their failure to curb a surge in drug-related violence in Rosario.
Rosario is located about 300 kilometers northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires.
Considered as the greatest of all time or GOAT, Messi recently led Argentina to win the World Cup, held in Qatar. This was Argentina’s first World Cup glory in 36 years.
The football legend is revered in his home country even though he spends most of his time overseas. The chilling threats have sent left his fans perplexed as they wonder why anyone would even think of issuing death threats to an iconic footballing figure as popular as Messi.
