Kidnappings of loved ones, shootings, extortion, threats: insecurity is a powerful brake on the desire of many South American football stars to end their careers on the continent where they started.
In countries with sometimes precarious economic health and often plagued by drugs and crime, several recent cases have left their mark.
But the phenomenon is nothing new, and the Argentinians Gabriel, Diego Milito and Carlos Tevez or the Brazilian Luis Fabiano have also been victims of it in the past, without giving up on returning to their respective countries.
Angel Di Maria should abstain: while he had proclaimed several times his dream of returning to play in Rosario, where he started, the former Argentine winger of Paris Saint-Germain, today at Benfica Lisbon , would now rule out this idea, according to the TyC Sports television channel, to “prioritize the safety and health of his family”.
At the end of March, relatives of the player received a threatening message, launched from a car over the entrance to the closed neighborhood of Funes, on the outskirts of Rosario, where Di Maria has a residence. Without revealing its content, the authorities spoke of threats emanating from “criminal organizations seeking to sow disorder in public opinion”.
– Held for 12 days by the guerrillas –
Rosario, 300 km from Buenos Aires, is considered the most dangerous city in Argentina, with a homicide rate of 22 per 100,000 inhabitants, five times higher than the national rate.
A major river port for grain exports, Rosario is also a transit point for drugs from neighboring countries, which have flowed for years into a local drug trade made up of small gangs, with frequent shootings and extortions.
In the same city, a supermarket belonging to relatives of Antonela Roccuzzo, the wife of superstar Lionel Messi also a native of Rosario, was also the target of gunfire last year.
In the fall of 2023, the father of Colombian Liverpool winger Luis Diaz was detained for 12 days by the ELN (National Liberation Army) guerrillas, in a mountainous region on the border with Venezuela. , before being released under pressure from the government, in the midst of peace negotiations with the guerrillas.
Top scorer for the Colombian “Cafeteros”, the former Monaco striker Radamel Falcao, who now plays in Spain, then considered returning to the Millonarios of Bogota, where he played as a junior, but the kidnapping of Manuel Diaz made people hesitate.
“You have to look at the situation in the country at the moment, it’s a bit complex (…) These are negative things that make you think and perhaps slow you down,” explained “El Tigre” to the Telepacifico channel .
In Peru, the mother of international striker Paolo Guerrero, who played at Bayern Munich in the early 2000s, was the victim of extortion, one of the most common crimes in South America.
– “State of war” in Ecuador –
In February 2024, Guerrero, 40, returned to his country, signing with Universidad César Vallejo. Members of a criminal gang then sent threatening messages to his mother, to try to extract money from her.
After briefly considering breaking his contract, Guerrero ultimately stayed, demanding security guarantees, and the gang that threatened his mother was dismantled.
In Ecuador, plagued by drug trafficking, organized crime and corruption, President Daniel Noboa declared his country in a “state of war” against criminal gangs in January 2024.
The security crisis dampened the desire for a return of striker Enner Valencia, top scorer in the history of his selection, who dreamed of once again donning the colors of Emelec of Guayaquil, a large port in the southwest of the country where shootings and executions are almost daily.
“I would love to go to Emelec, try to help this team that gave me everything, but I wouldn’t take my family to Ecuador, and I wouldn’t go to Ecuador myself now,” said in August 2023, a few days after the murder of a presidential candidate, the player who notably played for West Ham and Fenerbahçe.
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2024-05-07 12:06:47
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