Lionel Messi has arrived in Argentina to bid a final farewell to his father and agent, Jorge Messi, who served as his steadfast support throughout the difficult years the global star faced during his adolescence in Barcelona, ahead of the farewell service scheduled for Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
The father of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner passed away late Friday night at the age of 68 in a clinic in the city of Rosario. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
The Argentine star arrived aboard a private jet from the United States accompanied by his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and their children, most of whom were dressed in black, as observed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) at the scene.
After the plane landed at 20:40 local time (23:40 GMT), according to airport authorities, Messi boarded a van escorted by police vehicles.
Jorge Messi’s funeral ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sunday in a private family setting in the town of Pérez, adjacent to his birthplace of Rosario, north of Buenos Aires, in the presence of Lionel and members of his family, official local sources informed AFP.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) and FC Barcelona—which welcomed Messi when he was 13 years old—were among the first entities to extend their condolences. The Catalan club said in a statement: "FC Barcelona thanks Jorge Messi for his commitment to our club and for his trust in us during the beginnings and illustrious years of his son Leo's football career."
At Inter Miami CF in the United States, where Messi has played since 2023, his teammates wore black armbands during their match against Monterrey on Saturday.
Jorge Messi was a pivotal figure throughout his son's career; he was his first coach, the father who left everything behind to accompany him to Spain, and later the agent who negotiated massive contracts on his behalf.
Jorge worked in the metallurgical industry in Rosario, located 340 kilometers north of Buenos Aires, and oversaw youth teams at the local Grandoli club. He was the one who gave the future Argentina captain his first playing opportunity when he was 4 years old on the dirt neighborhood pitches where Argentine children traditionally play.
His life changed completely in the year 2000 when Barcelona invited the rising 13-year-old talent to move to Catalonia to undergo growth hormone deficiency treatment while playing for the club's youth academy.
Jorge then left his stable job in Argentina, his wife, and their three other children to move to Spain with Lionel.
Later, Jorge signed his son's first contract with Barcelona, becoming his sole agent and representative—first at Barcelona, then at Paris Saint-Germain in France, and finally in Miami.
However, his life was not without controversy.
In 2013, Spanish authorities accused father and son of using a network of companies in Britain, Switzerland, Belize, and Uruguay between 2007 and 2009 to collect image rights revenue and evade taxes in Spain.
The case was closed in 2017 after millions of dollars in fines were imposed.
In 2019, Jorge and Lionel, alongside the Lionel Messi Foundation, faced new allegations in Spain related to alleged tax crimes, fraud, and money laundering. This second case was dropped in 2021.
