Barcelona star Lionel Messi had a punch thrown at him by a young assailant on Thursday as he was leaving a restaurant in his native city of Rosario, Argentina. He was not reported injured.
A witness told the TV channels America and Todo Noticias that the assailant was among a throng of people looking for autographs. It was not clear if the punch had landed, or the intention.
“There was a crush of people waiting outside,” Pablo Moyano, who was working in the restaurant, said in the interview. “There were kids, reporters, photographers waiting ... and one of the kids tried to punch him. I don’t know if he pulled it off. He went running afterward.”
Witnesses said the suspect was dressed in the uniform of a school located a few streets away. Moyano said Messi was uninjured and went on signing autographs.
Messi arrived in Rosario, about 500 kilometres north of Buenos Aires, this week and is taking a few days of vacation before practice starts next week for the Copa America - the South American championship.
