Some Gunmen fired shots at Lionel Messi's family’s supermarket in Rosario on Thursday. The supermarket is owned by Messi's wife Antonela Roccuzzo and her family. The gunmen also left a harrowing message for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, threatening him and his family.
The attackers also threatened the mayor of Rosario, Pablo Javkin. In the incident, two men were seen on a motorbike and were caught on CCTV walking towards the supermarket in Rosario and firing shots repeatedly at metal shutters over the windows and front door. More than half a dozen shots were fired at the supermarket
The note left by the two gunmen said, "Messi. We are waiting for you. Javkin is not going to look after you." A local TV station reported the attack and claimed that the criminals could be trying to extort money from Lionel Messi and his family.
The supermarket is called Supermercado Unico and belongs to Antonela’s family and is reportedly managed by one of her cousins. The store will remain closed on Thursday after the drive-by shooting, which happened at around 2 am.
Talking about Messi’s ongoing season, the Argentine was named men's player of the year at the 2022 Best Fifa Awards. The 35-year-old beat French forwards Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the prize. Messi led Argentina to a historic World Cup win in Qatar and scored 27 goals in 49 games for the club and country in 2021-22.
Messi won the award for a second time and reacting to this achievement said, "It's amazing. It's been a tremendous year and it's an honour for me to be here and win this award. Without my teammates, I wouldn't be here. I achieved the dream I had been hoping for so long. Very few people can achieve that and I have been lucky to do so."
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