The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner touched down on a private flight from Miami late on Saturday with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their children and has remained surrounded by his close family since. A private ceremony with a few teammates from the Argentine national squad is scheduled to take place at a cemetery in the town of Perez, adjacent to Rosario, later Sunday. The gates of the town's El Prado cemetery displayed handwritten messages from fans -- "Stay strong, Leo, we love you" and "Stay strong, Messi family" -- alongside a large floral wreath.Messi's teammates rallied around their captain following the announcement that Jorge Messi had passed away late Friday at a clinic in Rosario. "It will surely do him good for us to be there," Boca Juniors midfielder Leandro Paredes told journalists after his team's match on Saturday. "I need to speak with a few of my teammates to see if we go now or sometime tomorrow."According to some media outlets midfielder Rodrigo de Paul -- a close friend of Messi and his Inter Miami teammate -- would travel to Argentina.
Argentina star Lionel Messi's father Jorge Messi (L), and brother Rodrigo at a 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifier in Buenos Aires on November 19, 2024 © JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File
