Inter Miami and Argentina forward Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge Messi, died on Saturday at a hospital in the central Argentina city of Rosario. He was 68.
The Rosario-based Club Atlético 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, rigor and affection, supported the career of the best player of all time, alongside his wife, Celia Cuccittini.”
As well as his wife, Jorge is survived by his four children: Lionel and his two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and Lionel’s younger sister, María Sol.
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.”
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.
