ROSARIO, Argentina -- Jorge Messi, the father of soccer star and Argentina captain Lionel Messi, died Saturday at a hospital in the central Argentina city of Rosario. He was 68. The Rosario-based Club Atletico Newell’s Old Boys announced his death in a social media post that said he had undergone treatment in recent months for an unspecified illness. The post described him as “the pillar and the person who, with vision, rigour and affection, supported the career of the best player of all time, alongside his wife, Celia Cuccittini.” The South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, in a statement also offered its condolences “with respect and affection for Lionel.” Lionel Messi led Argentina to a runner-up finish in this year’s World Cup. In the team’s first match, against Algeria, he was visibly emotional after scoring the first of his three goals. He said later that he 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,” according to 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 worked as a steelworker. He played soccer as a midfielder and reached the youth ranks of Newell’s Old Boys but had to abandon the sport to complete his mandatory military service in Argentina. He played a fundamental role in his third son’s career, serving as his agent and managing his business affairs. He was the one who travelled with a young Messi to Barcelona in the early 2000s for the trial that would open the doors 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. He led 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 the contracts with Barca and later his transfers to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami, while also managing the use of his famous 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 trying to conceal earnings from the player’s image rights. Jorge Messi paid more than than 5 million euros (US$6.6 million) on Aug. 14 to cover alleged back taxes and interest. In Rosario, a sign at the VIP Rosario restaurant, one of the Messi family’s gastronomic ventures, indicated that it was closed for the day. The president of Argentina’s soccer federation, Claudio Tapia, on Saturday issued a lengthy statement in which he recognized Jorge Messi “for having raised a person of values: humble, respectful, and deeply committed to others.” The organization ordered a moment of silence to be observed at all matches across all categories of Argentine soccer and mandated that players, referees and coaching staff wear black armbands. By Ramiro Barreiro And Pato Saita. Barreiro reported from Montevideo, Uruguay.
