Messi loses father, agent

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP):

Jorge Messi, the father of football star and Argentina captain Lionel Messi, died yesterday at a hospital in the central Argentine city of Rosario. He was 68.

Rosario-based Club Atlético Newell’s Old Boys announced his death in a social media post, noting that he had undergone treatment in recent months for an unspecified illness. The club described him as “the pillar and the person who, with vision, rigor and affection, supported the career of the best player of all time, alongside his wife, Celia Cuccittini”.

The South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, also offered its condolences in a statement, expressing sympathy “with respect and affection for Lionel”.

Lionel Messi led Argentina to a runner-up finish at this year’s World Cup. In the team’s opening match against Algeria, he was visibly emotional after scoring the first of his three goals and later said he had wept for “a reason unrelated to sports”.

“I went through some difficult, complicated days,” he said. “I am grateful to the delegation, to all my teammates, because they were always by my side wishing me strength so that I would be OK.”

Media reports at the time outraged the Messi family, which days later released a statement confirming that “Jorge is experiencing a health issue”, without specifying the nature of his condition.

“A person’s health and the peace of mind of their loved ones should not be the subject of speculation or irresponsible media interest,” read the statement, which also expressed “discomfort at the lack of sensitivity, respect and scruples with which some people have treated a strictly private and family matter”.

Jorge Messi was a chemical technician and steelworker. He also played football as a midfielder and progressed through the youth ranks of Newell’s Old Boys before abandoning the sport to complete mandatory military service in Argentina.

He played a fundamental role in the career of his third son, serving as his agent and managing his business affairs. He travelled with a young Lionel Messi to Barcelona in the early 2000s for the trial that opened the door to La Masia, the club’s youth academy.

Lionel Messi made his professional debut in 2005 and went on to win eight Ballon d’Or awards, as well as leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title.

“My dad was always by my side,” Lionel Messi said in a 2007 interview with Radio del Plata. “Sometimes I would lock myself in my room to cry when we arrived in Barcelona, or my dad would do the same without me seeing him, or thinking I didn’t see him. We pretended we were both OK, but we weren’t. My dad even asked me what I wanted to do when we were feeling down, if I wanted to stay or go back, and I wanted to stay, and he stayed with me.”

His father negotiated contracts with Barcelona and later oversaw his transfers to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami. He also managed the use of his son’s image rights and his numerous investments in real estate, hotels and restaurants.

In 2013, father and son were accused by a Spanish prosecutor of attempting to conceal earnings from the player’s image rights. Jorge Messi paid more than five million euros (US$6.6 million) on August 14 to cover alleged back taxes and interest.

The president of Argentina’s football federation, Claudio Tapia, yesterday issued a lengthy statement in which he recognised Jorge Messi “for having raised a person of values: humble, respectful, and deeply committed to others”.

The federation ordered a moment of silence at matches across all categories of Argentine football and directed players, referees and coaching staff to wear black armbands.