Jorge Messi, the father and longtime business manager of soccer star Lionel Messi, died early Saturday morning at a hospital in Rosario, Argentina, after a long illness. He was 68. Lionel Messi will not attend Inter Miami's Leagues Cup match against Monterrey later Saturday and is instead traveling to Rosario to be with his family.
Sanatorio Centro, the medical clinic in Rosario, announced Jorge Messi's death, and a club source confirmed it to the Miami Herald, which first reported the story. Both Newell's Old Boys and CONMEBOL also announced his death, according to the same report. Newell's Old Boys paid tribute to Jorge Messi, describing him as a renowned supporter, businessman and father of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, and said his support and behind-the-scenes leadership were fundamental to his son's career, per the Herald's account.
Jorge Messi's family had kept his illness private, but they later confirmed he was going through a health situation during the 2026 World Cup, according to the Miami Herald. He was unable to travel to see his son play in the tournament. Lionel Messi wept a few times during the World Cup and said afterward that his tears had nothing to do with football, telling reporters he had been through difficult, complicated days, the Herald reported.
A Grief Hidden Behind a Hat-Trick
According to Sports Illustrated, Lionel Messi's tearful reaction after his hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina's 2026 World Cup opener was later acknowledged by the family as an emotional response to his father's grave condition, which had kept Jorge from traveling to the tournament. Lionel Messi went on to lead Argentina to the World Cup final and was among the tournament's leading scorers, per the Herald's reporting. After his father's death, Lionel Messi thanked his teammates and staff for their support, and he spent time with his father in the weeks after the World Cup before rejoining Inter Miami on July 29, according to the Herald.
Jorge Messi's path to becoming one of soccer's most powerful behind-the-scenes figures began far from the sport's business side. He trained as a chemical technician and worked as a quality supervisor at the Acindar steel factory in Rosario during the 1980s, according to beIN SPORTS. The Herald likewise noted that Jorge Messi worked at a steel factory before turning his focus to his son's athletic future. Before that, he had played as a midfielder in the youth academy of Newell's Old Boys in Rosario, though his own playing career ended when he was called up for mandatory military service, as reported by the Punch Newspapers.
From Rosario Sidelines to Global Contract Negotiations
Jorge Messi's first steps into soccer management came at Grandoli, the neighborhood club in Rosario where a four-year-old Lionel first played organized soccer, according to the Sunday Guardian. He later traveled with a 14-year-old Lionel to Spain for an FC Barcelona tryout that launched his son's storied career, before relocating with the family to Europe, per the Herald. FC Barcelona thanked Jorge Messi for entrusting the club with the beginnings and most glorious years of Lionel's career, the Herald reported.
Jorge's impatience with Barcelona's contract delays in December 2000 famously forced sporting director Carles Rexach to scribble a binding agreement on a restaurant paper napkin, a document that later sold at auction in May 2024 for £762,000, or about $965,000, according to beIN SPORTS. Operating as a FIFA-registered agent, Jorge Messi went on to personally negotiate every contract extension with Barcelona, Lionel's 2021 transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, and the 2023 move to Inter Miami CF that made his son one of Major League Soccer's biggest stars, the Sunday Guardian reports.
That decades-long control over his son's business affairs was not without controversy. In July 2016, a Spanish court convicted Jorge and Lionel Messi of tax fraud over €4.1 million in unpaid image-rights taxes between 2007 and 2009; Spain's Supreme Court reduced Jorge's prison sentence to 15 months in May 2017 after the back taxes were repaid, according to the Public Radio of Armenia.
Final Months Spent Quietly in Rosario
Jorge Messi spent his final months in Rosario, and one of his last major public appearances came on November 29, 2025, when he and his wife, Celia Cuccittini, attended Inter Miami's MLS Eastern Conference final match in Fort Lauderdale, according to CBS News. He is survived by Celia and their four children — Lionel, and his older brothers Rodrigo and Matías, and younger sister María Sol — per the Herald's reporting.
The Argentine national team posted condolences to Lionel Messi and his family following the announcement, the Herald noted. Lionel Messi, who won the 2022 World Cup, has claimed eight Ballon d'Or awards and became Barcelona's all-time leading scorer since making his professional debut in 2005, has now played for Argentina across six World Cups. He scored two goals and added an assist in Inter Miami's 4-2 Leagues Cup opening win over Mexican club San Luis just days before his father's death, according to the Herald, before stepping away from the team's match against Monterrey to be with his family in Rosario.
Public sensitivity around Jorge Messi's health had already been tested once before his death. In June 2026, Argentine TV presenter Florencia Peña resigned from Luzu TV after mistakenly broadcasting a false claim that Jorge Messi had died, a mistake that sparked public backlash and internal staff firings roughly two months before his actual passing, according to a video posted to YouTube.
