Lionel Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo has revealed her family were subjected to a terrifying robbery in Argentina.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Roccuzzo’s cousin Agustina Scalia was robbed by gunmen in Rosario as she travelled from her family’s supermarket to deposit cash at a local bank, according to Marca. The attackers made off with £18,000 ($22,500) in Argentine pesos. The thieves also fired at least one gunshot and broke one of the windows in the car during the attack.
WHAT ROCCUZZO SAID
Roccuzzo has shared some pictures from her family of the incident on social media.
“Conscious of the times we live in, where every day there are so many injustices, I am grateful that it was just one more scare. Thank you for so much love these days,” read the caption alongside the images by Mauricio Scaglia.
Rocuzzo replied with her own message: “I love you very much brothers.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
A colleague who worked at the family’s supermarket spoke to the media about the terrifying ordeal.
“We were going from the supermarket to the bank to deposit the money,” said the worker. “There was a car for sure, because I saw them get into one. At the moment when everything started, all I heard were gunshots. When we got out we saw the bullet hole.”
Head of radio command Diego Santamaria also confirmed some details of the attack.
“The shot was apparently fired when the car tried to get away,” he said. “They were leaving the supermarket and going to a nearby bank. At 5pm, they were approached by a white car, the glass was broken and the bags with the large sum of money were taken.”
WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI’S FAMILY?
Messi has just been back in Argentina for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil. The Inter Miami superstar will now enjoy some rare time off with his family as the MLS season does not restart until February. Messi is due to return to training in January and will face several pre-season friendlies before the campaign kicks off. A friendly against boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys in the United States is a possibility.