Central fans will have to continue waiting for the return of Ángel Di María, Rosario Central president Gonzalo Belloso admitted on Monday. Fans have been awaiting his comeback after El Fideo said that he wanted to end his career with the Canalla, the club where he first broke through. However, the lack of safety guarantees for himself and his family means they’ll have to wait at least another season. At 36, however, time is running out for Di María to fulfill his promise.

“Angelito’s return remains a dream for all Central fans,” Belloso told Rosario radio show Radiópolis. “The idea he was coming back gained steam in recent years and we thought we were in a good place to welcome him, but he’s informed us that he feels his safety as well as that of his family isn’t guaranteed.”

The Central president added that Di María informed them of his decision after the Copa América and that they understand the situation, despite lamenting missing out on the opportunity to have him at the club.

Di María spoke about his potential return in October 2022. “Every Argentine player’s dream is reaching European football; mine is returning to Central, I won’t hide that,” he told sports outlet ESPN at the time. 

In January 2024, with the Canalla qualified for the Copa Libertadores, South America’s biggest continental club competition, El Fideo once again admitted his wishes. “Winning a title with Central would be a dream, one that I’d like to fulfill. Winning the Libertadores would be a historic feat and the perfect ending for my career.”

Di María will continue his career far from home, as he’ll extend his stay with Portuguese giant SL Benfica. As Águias, the club where El Fideo took his first steps in European football in 2007, is coming off a season of near misses, finishing second in the league as well as reaching the semi finals of the League Cup and the Portuguese Cup.

Why isn’t Di María coming back to Rosario Central?

Central fans have been expecting Di María’s homecoming, but not everyone in Rosario looked forward to it. 

In March 2024, a car drove by the gated community where his family lives, in the city of Funes just outside Rosario, and left a black package addressed to the “Di María family.” It was widely reported that it contained a threat to the player and his relatives. Two months later, graffiti appeared over a mural of the player at Club El Torito, where he took the first steps in his career. “Are you still coming back?” the painting read.

Di María isn’t the only Rosario star to be targeted: in March 2023, a supermarket owned by Lionel Messi’s in-laws was shot at. The attackers left a message for the Inter Miami star: “Messi, we’re waiting for you. [Rosario Mayor Pablo] Javkin is a drug lord; he won’t save you.”

In recent years, homicides in Rosario have skyrocketed due to organized crime and the drug trade. The homicide rate in Rosario was 22 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, according to Santa Fe province’s Observatory on Public Security — around five times higher than the national average of 4.2 per 100,000.