{"id":367002,"date":"2026-08-09T19:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T19:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/367002\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T19:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T19:48:12","slug":"inter-miami-pays-tribute-to-lionel-messis-dad-after-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/367002\/","title":{"rendered":"Inter Miami pays tribute to Lionel Messi’s dad after death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inter Miami paid tribute to Lionel Messi\u2019s father before \u2014 and during \u2014 its match Saturday, with Messi away from the team after Jorge Messi died Friday night in Rosario, Argentina<\/a> following an illness.<\/p>\n

He was 68 years old.<\/p>\n

Inter Miami, the MLS squad that Messi has played for since 2023, showed Jorge\u2019s name on the videoboard and held a moment of silence pregame, and fans crafted various signs supporting Messi \u2014 including a \u201cfuerza Leo\u201d one, which translates to \u201cstay strong Leo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodrigo De Paul, who also played with Messi on the Argentina national team that won the World Cup four years ago and lost in the final last month, also honored his teammate\u2019s father by revealing a No. 10 Messi jersey under his own while celebrating a goal.<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi\u2019s father is remembered during Inter Miami CF\u2019s League Cup match against CF Monterrey on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Nu Stadium in Miami, Florida. Shutterstock<\/p>\n

De Paul, who scored in the 32nd minute of Inter Miami\u2019s Leagues Cup loss to Monterrey, took off his jersey and pointed to the back of the Messi one.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s Inter Miami teammates also donned black armbands during the match.<\/p>\n

Monterrey coach Mat\u00edas Almeyda opened his news conference with a statement about Messi\u2019s father, while Inter Miami and teammate Luis Su\u00e1rez shared statements earlier Saturday when news of Jorge\u2019s death broke.<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi walks onto the pitch after halftime during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. AP Photo<\/p>\n

\u201cFriend, I hug you and your family strongly,\u201d Su\u00e1rez wrote on Instagram, according to ESPN<\/a>. \u201cYour dad, from above, will continue to watch you with pride like he did always. All my love in these difficult moments to the Messi Family. Rest in peace, Jorge.\u201d<\/p>\n

A cause of death wasn\u2019t immediately known, but Jorge\u2019s health situation emerged as a storyline during the World Cup when Messi\u2019s family confirmed in a statement<\/a> that his father was \u201crecovering and progressing favorably\u201d from his health issues.<\/p>\n

Jorge, according to multiple reports, was an influential figure in Messi\u2019s career and also served as his agent.<\/p>\n

Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo de Paul, left, celebrates after scoring a goal, wearing the shirt of teammate Lionel Messi (10) during a Leagues Cup soccer match against Monterrey. Messi did not play due to the death of his father. AP Photo<\/p>\n

Inter Miami fans send condolences to Lionel Messi following the passing of his father during the Leagues Cup Phase One match against Monterrey at Nu Stadium in Miami, FL, on Saturday, August 8, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

\u201cNewell\u2019s Old Boys mourn with profound pain and sorrow the passing of Jorge Messi,\u201d Messi\u2019s childhood club said in a statement Saturday. \u201cHe was a renowned [Newell\u2019s] supporter, businessman and the father of the captain of the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi. Jorge was the support and the person who, together with his wife, Celia, strengthened the career of the greatest player of all time with vision, rigour and affection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHis constant support and behind-the-scenes leadership were fundamental in supporting every step of Lionel\u2019s journey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inter Miami paid tribute to Lionel Messi\u2019s father before \u2014 and during \u2014 its match Saturday, with Messi…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[120664,1660,123,125,124,5692,2062,110],"class_list":["post-367002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-argentina-soccer","tag-lionel-messi","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-mls","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}