After a shock shooting followed by threats to Lionel Messi, it is said the incident has affected a potential transfer for the Argentine.
On Thursday, armed drug traffickers reportedly opened fire at a supermarket in Rosario owned by the family of Messi's wife, Antonela Roccuzzo.
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According to the Metro, no one was injured during the shooting but the gunmen left a note that read: "Messi, we're waiting for you. [Rosario mayor Pablo] Javkin is also a drug trafficker, so he won't take care of you."
With it believed the attack was a form of intimidation after Rosario mayor Pablo Javkin urge the authorities to do more to stop drug-related violence in the city, Argentine politician Celia Arena took to social media to address the incident.
"With the mafia attack on the Roccuzzo family's business, knowing that it will be an event of global significance, the aim is to [install] terror in the population and unease in those of us who are in the battle against criminal violence. It is, neither more nor less, the definition of terrorism," she wrote on Twitter.
In recent days, it was reported that Newell's Old Boys, Messi's boyhood club in Rosario, had emerged as a possible destination for the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner if he decides to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, when his contract runs out.
However, following the shock shooting, Newell's manager Gabriel Heinze, who played with Messi for Argentina between 2005 and 2010, has since insisted that the threats aimed at the PSG star and his family heavily impacts his possible return to the club.
"This pays attention to everything, to everyone and everything that this is," Heinze told reporters, according to TUDN.
"Of course, this drives Leo and anyone else away. We are talking about this because he is Leo, but there are also many boys who would like to return [to Argentina].
"We are talking about the fact that he is our player, also because of the relationship I have (with Messi), but all this is crazy and it makes you think about a lot of things.
"It is irresponsible on my part, but it is the truth, I did not think about it. The decision led me to other things, but I do recognise that it is irresponsible on my part."
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Messi continues to be the topic of constant speculation as he is yet to decide his future for next season.
PSG are desperate to get him to sign a contract renewal, while FC Barcelona, Inter Miami and clubs in Saudi Arabia are understood to be keeping close tabs on the situation in the hope of completing a sensational move for the recently crowned The Best FIFA Men's Player.
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