Argentina footballer Angel Di Maria received a death threat at his family home in Rosario, according to local media.
The development comes as drug-related violence are on the rise in the central city, which is also the hometown of Lionel Messi.
The threat came after Di Maria, who currently plys his trade for Portuguese champions Benfica, said he is interested in finishing his career at his boyhood club, Rosario Central.
"Tell your son Angel not to come back to Rosario because we will kill a family member," the message read, according to the news portal Infobae, which cited police sources.
"Not even Pullaro is going to save you," it added, referring to the provincial governor, Maximiliano Pullaro. "We don't leave paper notes. We leave bullets and dead people behind."
However, police didn’t discard any potential lines of investigation with media stating that it remains unclear what led to the threats.
"That kind of threat brings a lot of social commotion and that is their aim -- to make the population scared, hit public figures," Esteban Santantino, who works in security for the local government, told broadcaster Todo Noticias.
A car left a sign displaying the threat directed towards the Di Maria family in front of the private neighborhood where the 36-year-old usually stays, media said.
Di Maria will be part of the starting XI in friendly fixture against Costa Rica on Tuesday, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni told reporters later on Monday.
"Di Maria knows that he has our full support for whatever he needs. The important thing is that he plays, that will relax him a little."
Messi also received a similar threat last year which was followed an attack by unidentified gunmen on a supermarket belonging to the family of his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo.