Facing arrest: Lionel Messi’s brother Matias
Barcelona star Lionel Messi’s brother is facing a new court probe after police discovered a gun and blood all over a boat he claimed to have had an accident in.
Matias Messi, 35, told a security guard when he reached a private fishing club near his home in Argentina yesterday that he had cut his face after colliding with a sandbank.
But after prosecutors discovered a handgun in the blood-spattered vessel, they ordered police to track him down so he could be formally questioned.
He is now said to be facing arrest after officers failed to locate him.
Argentinian news publications published pictures of the blood-covered motor boat, which was left at a fishing club in the town of Fighiera, a 20-minute drive from Matias’s home on a private estate in General Lagos.
Prosecutor Jose Luis Caterina applied for an arrest warrant for Matias after a second attempt to locate him failed following the discovery of the .380 handgun.
Matias, who cheated death in a car crash three months ago, is said to have driven himself to a health centre for treatment.
This is not the first time he has been in trouble with the law. Last year he was instructed to teach football as part of a probation order after being caught with a gun in his car.
He was also ordered to stay off drugs and drink and pay a fine of around €470 (£415).
Blood found all over Matias’s motor boat. A handgun was also found in the vessel
Mathias reportedly told a security guard that he had cut his face after colliding with a sandbank
Local reports at the time of his arrest said Matias refused to identify himself to officers when he was stopped in the port city of Rosario in October 2015.
Two officers were reportedly left slightly injured and Matias suffered a cut to an eyebrow during a struggle.
He was held at a police station for several hours before being allowed to return home.
Matias was also arrested in October 2008 for allegedly having a loaded gun in his belt.
The boat was left at a fishing club in the town of Fighiera a 20-minute drive from Matias’s home on a private estate in General Lagos
Matias is one of Lionel Messi’s two older brothers. Lionel Messi is pictured after receiving his fourth Golden Shoe award last week
And in April 2011 he survived an assassination attempt.
He dived for cover as a gunman on a motorbike sprayed bullets at his house where police later found four 9mm handgun rounds lodged in the building.
In August this year he escaped with minor injuries after his Audi was left badly damaged in a collision with a lorry during bad weather.
Matias is one of Lionel’s two older brothers.