Authorities in Argentina are investigating allegations of death threats against the family of World Cup winner Angel Di Maria.
According to reports from local media, a sign was found at the family’s private residence in Rosario, where Di Maria spends his time while at home, indicating that a family member would be killed if he returned to Rosario.
The unknown perpetrator also warned the family that not even the governor of the province could guarantee their safety if Di Maria failed to heed the warning.
The threat note stated, “Tell your son Angel not to come back to Rosario because we will kill a family member. Not even Pullaro is going to save you. We don’t leave paper notes. We leave bullets and dead people behind.”
This incident comes a week after the former Manchester United midfielder announced his intention to retire from football at his boyhood club, Rosario Central.
The 36-year-old plies his trade as an attacking midfielder at the Portuguese side Benfica.
Di Maria left his boyhood club back in 2007 after playing 36 games. He then moved to Europe by joining Benfica, which was a stepping stone for Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, and Juventus.
This is not the first incident of a footballer and his family facing such threats in Rosario, which has witnessed a surge in violence between rival drug-dealing groups.
Late last year, Lionel Messi’s wife’s family shop was attacked by unknown gunmen who fired 14 shots. They also left a message that read: “Messi, we are waiting for you.”
“That kind of threat brings a lot of social commotion and that is their aim — to make the population scared, hit public figures,” Esteban Santantino, who works in security for the local government, told broadcaster Todo Noticias.
The Argentine government announced last week that it would send a bill to Congress to allow the armed forces to intervene in internal security operations to combat drug trafficking and crime in Rosario.
