Messi returns to Argentina for his father’s funeral
Lionel Messi has travelled back to his hometown of Rosario in Argentina to attend the funeral of his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, who has died at the age of 68, according to Africanews.
The Argentina captain left Inter Miami in Major League Soccer to be with his family after his father passed away on Saturday morning following an undisclosed illness, as Africanews reported.
Jorge Messi played a central role in his son’s football career from its earliest days. Born and raised in Rosario, he worked in a factory before devoting himself to managing his son’s development through the youth ranks of Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario and, later, FC Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy. He accompanied a 13-year-old Lionel to Catalonia in 2000, a move that laid the foundation for one of the most decorated careers in the sport.
In later years Jorge took on a more formal role as his son’s representative and confidant, helping to negotiate contracts and overseeing much of the off-pitch business that accompanied his career at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.
The Messi family has deep roots in Rosario, a port city on the Paraná river in the province of Santa Fe, where Lionel was born in 1987 and where his early football talent first drew the attention of scouts across the Atlantic.
Now captain of Argentina and the all-time leading scorer for his national team, Messi led the Albiceleste to the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022 and has been named the world’s best player a record eight times.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
