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| Lionel Messi and Antonella |
Curious locals watched stars such as Luis Suarez and Carles Puyol as well as ex-Barca and current Chelsea player Cesc Fabregas disembark at the small airport in the northern city of Rosario.
A host of footballing stars including Barcelona striker Neymar and ex-Barca star Xavi
Hernandez were expected among the 260 guests at Friday’s wedding at the Hotel City Center Casino.
“Is that Neymar or Xavi? Ah, whatever, take a photo all the same,” said one local woman to her grandchildren as they watched from the terminal.
The players arrived dressed in caps, hoods and dark sunglasses, with suitcases in hand.
Local reporters broadcasting from the scene on radio and television told their audiences it was “the wedding of the century” for Rosario.
Authorities said 300 police officers were deployed at key points in the gritty port city -- the birthplace of the bloody drug gang Los Monos -- to ensure that guests traveled safely to the venue.
With a homicide rate twice the national rate, Rosario is considered one of Argentina’s most dangerous cities.
But Messi, 30, and his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo, 29, return every year to visit their families.
Also expected among the wedding guests -- and sure to draw the attention of starstruck fans at the airport -- are Messi’s teammate Gerard Pique and his wife, Colombian pop star Shakira.
The only former or current Real Madrid player invited is PSG’s Angel Di Maria.
OTHER POINTS TO KNOW:
- All of Messi’s first-team teammates are invited, according to ESPN
- Personal hairdressers will be available for guests
- There will be entertainment services for children
- Approximately 150 journalists will be allowed to cover the wedding, but they won’t have access to the ceremony or party.
- There will be a big screen outside the venue to stream the event to fans.
- The menu includes a cold buffer with hams, cheeses and pates. The main course has Argentine steak, spicy sausage, chicken chop suey, as well as sushi station for the non-meat eaters.
- Wedding gifts have been requested as donations to the Leo Messi Foundation
- Sergio Aguero’s wife and singer Karina is expected to perform, along with Uruguayan pop bands Rombai and Marama
- The City Center casino-hotel is right next to a neighbourhood run by drug gang Los Monos
