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Did a supermarket shooting stop Lionel Messi from returning home?

Two armed men shot up a supermarket owned by Antonela Roccuzzo's family, but why?

Graham Ruthven's avatar
Graham Ruthven
Jun 15, 2023
∙ Paid

In the early hours of Thursday March 2, two masked men on motorcycles stopped outside a supermarket in Rosario belonging to the family of Lionel Messi’s wife (Antonela Roccuzzo) and shot 14 bullets into its metal shutters. 

Not much damage was caused, but this was designed to make a statement - as was the handwritten message left on the door. “Messi, we are waiting for you,” it read, menacingly. “[Pablo] Javkin [Rosario’s mayor] is also a narco, he will not take care of you.”

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There was some ambiguity in the words used. The message wasn’t clear. Was this meant as a threat to Messi or a statement aimed at Javkin, the city’s mayor?

Whatever the true intent, though, it did nothing to help lure Messi back to Argentina. Instead, it opened up a discussion on crime in his hometown and the reasons why he might never play there.

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