Argentina football icon Lionel Messi bid farewell Sunday to his father, the global star’s emotional anchor and agent since childhood who passed away following a battle with cancer aged 68.
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.
After scoring a goal in a 2-1 defeat to Monterrey in Miami on Saturday, De Paul paid tribute to his friend by taking off his shirt to reveal Messi’s number 10 jersey.
The cause of death was not disclosed, but local media reported that Jorge Messi had been suffering from cancer.
His unusual absence from the World Cup in June had already attracted attention.
Messi’s family asked the media for “humanity” during the tournament amid persistent rumours over Jorge’s health.
After bursting into tears after scoring against Algeria, 39-year-old Messi had admitted to dealing with “a situation outside of sports”.
“I went through a few difficult, complicated days,” he later acknowledged, “but I am grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates, because they stood by me, as always.”
Immediately after the World Cup final defeat against Spain, Messi returned to spend a few days with his family in Rosario.
