Early Thursday morning, a supermarket belonging to the father-in-law of the famous soccer player Lionel Messi was shot at 14 times, and what could have been considered just another crime in one of Argentina's most violent cities, turned into something more after a threatening note addressed to the sports superstar was discovered.
According to reports, shortly before 3 a.m. two people arrived on a motorcycle, one got off, left a handwritten note at the scene and struck the metal shutter of the store owned by Messi's father-in-law, José Roccuzzo, 14 times. The shooting was recorded by security cameras on the street where the business is located.
"Messi, we are waiting for you. [Mayor Pablo] Javkin is a narco, he's not going to take care of you," read the threatening paper left by the assailants.
The attack, which could have gone unnoticed due to the number of violent events occurring in Rosario, became international news that highlighted the major crime problem in the Argentine city.
"The only thing different about this attack from the others we see every day is that it says 'Messi'. But they stepped on an anthill, because since it's Messi it won't go unpunished like many others," said Esther Marín, a resident who lost her son in a shooting.
🚨AHORA🚨
👉Balearon un local de la familia de Antonela Roccuzzo en Rosario y dejaron una amenaza contra Lionel Messi
👉La policía encontró una nota mafiosa dirigida al crack rosarino: “Messi te estamos esperando. Javkin es narco, no te va a cuidar”. pic.twitter.com/jtjvYPcAeb— Marcelo Bonelli (@BonelliOK) March 2, 2023
The prosecutor Federico Rébola, in charge of the investigation, said that it is likely that the objective was precisely to make the attack public with the intention of "intimidating or demanding something from the Roccuzzo family".
"They used something close to Messi to guarantee themselves news coverage and to get the message to reach everyone," he said.
The attack occurred amid strong speculation that Lionel Messi is looking to return to the Argentine city and play for Newell's Old Boys, a team of which he is a self-confessed fan.
"With Antonela we always talk about it: we have everything here. There is my family and hers too. In Rosario we have everything. I lived in Argentina for a short time, I left when I was 13 years old. And I have yet to play in Argentine soccer and at Newell's, where I grew up. I would love to and it is something pending because it was my dream as a child," Messi himself said during an interview in the past.
