Argentine football star Ángel Di María has disclosed that he received death threats including a pig’s head with a bullet after he announced dreams of returning to his former club Rosario Central. 

The 36-year-old forward, who recently retired from the Argentina national football team, was a key player in the squad that won the 2024 Copa América and the 2022 World Cup. 

However, his dream of retiring at the club he loves was shattered after death threats led him to decide that his family’s safety would not be guaranteed if he went back. Homicides in Rosario have skyrocketed in recent years due to organized crime and the drug trade.

After Rosario Central President Gonzalo Belloso confirmed the news on July 23, Di María spoke with local news outlet Rosario3 to explain his situation.

“I said what I said because that has been my dream all along, playing again with Central and retiring wearing that jersey,” said Di María, whom fans affectionately know as El Fideo (the noodle). “I feel bad for not being able to do it, but the threats against my family were too great, and my decisions are always based on their happiness and peace.”

The former Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint Germain player said his whole family was hoping for a homecoming, and that his wife had spent the best part of the year preparing their family for the move. “My daughters were counting days to move back near their grandparents. This was a dream of ours way more than of any fans.”

Di María admitted that he took the decision not to return after the first threat, when a car drove by the gated community near Rosario where his family lives and left a black package addressed to the “Di María family.” It reportedly contained a threat to the player and his relatives. 

The player acknowledged that his sister later received a box containing a pig’s head with a bullet in the forehead. The grizzly item was accompanied by a message saying that Di María’s daughter would be next if he returned to Central. The family did not initially report the second threat or make it public because they were afraid.

Di María is not the only Rosario footballer to have received threats. In March 2023, gunmen shot up a supermarket belonging to Lionel Messi’s in-laws. The assailants left a note reading “Messi, we’re waiting for you. [Mayor Pablo] Javkin is a narco, he won’t protect you.”

Javkin stated at the time that he believed criminals were seeking to gain notoriety by making threats against Argentine sporting heroes.

Di María has been the target of harsh criticism after his homecoming was foiled. 

“Those who don’t understand my decision simply aren’t thinking about what they’d do in that situation,” he said. “It’s easy to insult and harass me on social media without walking in my shoes for a bit.” 

However, he feels that a majority of Rosario Central fans understand his decision.

“I’ll never regret saying what I said, and I would say it a thousand times more. I want to retire with Rosario Central, its my dream. I had everything ready with [Belloso], but the threats went over the edge, and I told him as much,” he admitted.