Lionel Messi says goodbye to father who guided him through legendary career

[p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Messi[/a]'s teammates rallied around their captain following the announcement that Jorge Messi had passed away late Friday at a clinic in Rosario.[/p][image alt="De Paul shows the jersey of teammate Lionel Messi after the passing of his father" id="821d84fe-b53a-441d-b32a-9f4c53dbc34d" credit-line="Sam Navarro / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP / Profimedia" guid="fed1a914-3de9-4709-9bd2-c7eccb9d6612" original-width="1400" original-height="933" /][p]"[b]It will surely do him good for us to be there[/b]," [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/boca-juniors/hMrWAFH0/"]Boca Juniors[/a] midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/paredes-leandro/lbNnSBiA/"]Leandro Paredes[/a] told journalists after his team's match on Saturday.[/p][p]"[b]I need to speak with a few of my teammates to see if we go now or sometime tomorrow[/b]."[/p][p]According to some media outlets, midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-paul-rodrigo/AZ6TTjDC/"]Rodrigo de Paul[/a] -- a close friend of Messi and his [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter-miami/0AheRyBg/"]Inter Miami[/a] teammate -- would travel to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a].[/p][p]After scoring a goal in a 2-1 defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/monterrey/Ya23C2Zs/"]Monterrey[/a] in Miami on Saturday, De Paul paid tribute to his friend by taking off his shirt to reveal Messi's number 10 jersey.[/p][p]The cause of death was not disclosed, but local media reported that Jorge Messi had been suffering from cancer.[/p][p]His unusual absence from the World Cup in June had already attracted attention.[/p][p]Messi's family asked the media for "humanity" during the tournament amid persistent rumours over Jorge's health.[/p][image alt="Lionel Messi arriving home from Miami on Saturday night" id="43975c8b-7423-4b87-ba0b-a9b839269065" credit-line="Luis ROBAYO / AFP / AFP / Profimedia" guid="484907ea-9e0d-4ccf-a6cf-f4f2933eb76d" original-width="1400" original-height="933" /][p]After bursting into tears after scoring against Algeria, 39-year-old Messi had admitted to dealing with "a situation outside of sports".[/p][p]"[b]I went through a few difficult, complicated days[/b]," he later acknowledged, "[b]but I am grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates, because they stood by me, as always[/b]."[/p][p]Immediately after the World Cup final defeat against Spain, Messi returned to spend a few days with his family in Rosario.[/p][h2]Humble beginnings[/h2][p]A guiding figure throughout his son's career, Jorge Messi was his first coach who left everything behind to accompany his son to Spain.[/p][p]A metalworker in Rosario, 340 km north of Buenos Aires, Jorge managed youth teams at the small local club Grandoli.[/p][p]He was the one who introduced Argentina's future captain to the game at age four in vacant lots where local kids played.[/p][p]His life changed course in 2000 when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] invited the young prodigy, then aged 13, to Catalonia to continue treatment for a growth hormone deficiency while playing for the club's youth teams.[/p][embed guid="e308f389-83d7-4b5d-966a-58e3f89b87a5" url="https://x.com/Newells/status/2086078622620651934" social-type="twitter" /][p]Jorge left behind his job in Argentina, his wife, and his three other children to settle in Spain with Lionel.[/p][p]"[b]When we arrived in Barcelona, I used to lock myself in my room to cry alone, and my father did the same -- either without me seeing him or thinking I didn't see him. We pretended we were both fine, but we were struggling[/b]," Messi later said.[/p][p]His father was later the agent who negotiated astronomical contracts on his behalf, from Barcelona to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psg/CjhkPw0k/"]Paris Saint-Germain[/a] and Inter Miami.[/p][p]Messages of sympathy have poured in since Saturday from the football world, including from the clubs Messi played for and the Spanish Football Federation.[/p][p]The Argentine Football Association (AFA) ordered a minute of silence before matches and the wearing of black armbands at games across all age groups for the week.[/p]