Jorge Messi, father and representative of Lionel Messi, has passed away at 68 years in a clinic in Rosario, Argentina, after a long illness.
The news hits directly at the closest circle of the footballer, for whom his father was not only a family figure but also one of the pillars of his sports career and professional management for a good part of his trajectory.
A key figure in Leo Messi's career
Jorge Messi was for years the representative of his son and participated in some of the most important decisions of his career. His role was especially relevant from Leo's first steps as a youth player for Newell’s, when the family sought the treatment that the footballer needed before making the definitive leap to Europe.
That move marked the beginning of a story that would change world football. Jorge accompanied Leo Messi in his arrival in Barcelona, while the young player began to adapt to a new city, a new country, and the demands of the blaugrana youth academy.
The father who was by Messi's side in Barcelona
Jorge Messi remained with his son during the first years at FC Barcelona, a decisive stage for the sports and personal development of the footballer. While Leo began to grow within the club, his father remained a constant presence in his closest environment.
His wife, Celia Cuccittini, was linked to the care of the family nucleus in Rosario, while Jorge took on a direct role in supporting the future world champion in Spain. This family division was part of the sacrifices that surrounded Messi's early years away from Argentina.
Representative and trusted man
Over time, Jorge Messi gained weight as his son's representative and trusted man. He participated in contractual negotiations, professional decisions, and key moments of a career marked by success at Barcelona, the Argentine national team, and later in the final stretch of his European and American stage.
Although he always remained in the background media-wise, his figure was present in many of the most important movements of the footballer. His role was discreet but decisive: to protect Messi's environment, negotiate his future, and accompany him in moments of greatest pressure.
An illness that the family kept private
On the past June 18, the Messi family had explained that Jorge was under medical supervision, recovering and evolving favorably within the condition he presented, although they did not specify what his health problems were.
At that moment, the family also expressed their discomfort with the rumors and speculations spread about his condition. The death occurs now after weeks of concern regarding his health and a period in which the footballer's environment had asked for respect and prudence.
The family pillar of Messi
Jorge Messi was the husband of Celia Cuccittini and the father of Lionel, Rodrigo, Matías, and María Sol. Within the family, his figure was linked to the protection of Leo and the support of a career that went from the fields of Rosario to the great stadiums of the world.
For Messi, his father was much more than a representative. He was a constant presence in his sporting life, a family reference during the formative years, and one of the people who knew best the intimate journey behind his public success.
A loss in the closest circle of the Argentine champion
The death of Jorge Messi leaves a void in the closest circle of Lionel Messi and closes a fundamental stage in the personal history of the footballer. His influence is not understood only by the contracts or negotiations, but by the role he played from the beginning: the father who accompanied a child with exceptional talent in the most difficult leap of his life.
Argentine football and the Barça environment thus bid farewell to a figure who, without seeking the spotlight, was behind one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of sport.