BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Lionel Messi’s boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys of Argentina put up a banner of support for their country’s captain in their stadium on Saturday, following the attack against his wife Antonela Roccuzzo’s family business.
A threatening hand-written message to the Paris St Germain forward was left on a supermarket belonging to the Roccuzzo’s early on Thursday morning, after two people on motorcycles shot the business.
“Messi, we are waiting for you. (Pablo) Javkin (Rosario’s mayor) is also a narco, he will not take care of you,” read the handwritten text left on the door.
The message of support from Newell’s was posted on social media hours before Saturday’s home game against Barracas Central in the Argentine league.
“Leo, you are the heart of a country that loves you. Newell’s is with you,” read the red and black banner, which was placed behind one of the goals at the Coloso Marcelo Bielsa stadium ahead of the match.
Messi and Roccuzzo often travel to Rosario on holidays to visit their families as both are natives of the city built on the banks of the Parana River in Argentina’s Santa Fe province.
The city has one of the highest murder rates in Argentina, as gangs linked to drug trafficking coexist, according to judicial reports, and confrontations with injuries and deaths are frequently reported.
(Report by Ramiro Scandolo in Buenos Aires; Writing by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
