Jorge Messi, the father and longtime agent of Lionel Messi, has died at the age of 68 after a prolonged illness. He died on Friday at a hospital in Rosario, the Argentine city where the family is from, and his death was confirmed on Saturday.
Newell’s Old Boys, the Rosario club where both father and son began, announced his death and described him as the person who supported the career of the best player of all time.
What role did he play?
He served as his son’s agent and managed his business affairs across spells at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.
It was Jorge who travelled with the 13-year-old Lionel to Barcelona in 2000 for the trial that led to a place at the club’s La Masia academy, at a time when his son had been diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency requiring treatment the family could not easily fund in Argentina.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Died | 7 August 2026, Rosario |
| Age | 68 |
| Survived by | Wife Celia and four children |
| Role | Agent and business manager |
Who was Jorge Messi?
Jorge Horacio Messi was the father and longtime agent of the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi. He died on 7 August 2026 at a hospital in Rosario, Argentina, aged 68, following a prolonged illness that had not been publicly specified. Trained as a chemical technician and employed as a steelworker, he played football as a midfielder and reached the youth ranks of Newell’s Old Boys before leaving the game for mandatory military service. He managed his son’s career and business affairs across periods at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami, and travelled with Lionel to Barcelona in 2000 for the trial that secured a place at the La Masia academy. He is survived by his wife, Celia Cuccittini, and their four children: Rodrigo, Matias, Lionel and Maria Sol. Lionel Messi has won eight Ballon d’Or awards and captained Argentina to the 2022 World Cup.
What was his background?
Jorge Messi trained as a chemical technician and worked as a steelworker in Rosario. He played as a midfielder and reached the youth ranks at Newell’s Old Boys, leaving the game to complete mandatory military service.
He kept a low public profile through his son’s career, rarely appearing in the media despite representing one of the most recognisable athletes in the world.
How has football responded?
The South American football confederation, CONMEBOL, offered condolences “with respect and affection for Lionel”.
In a 2007 radio interview, Lionel Messi described the difficulty of the family’s first months in Spain, saying both he and his father hid their distress from one another. He said his father was always by his side.
Lionel Messi turned 39 in June and captained Argentina to a runner-up finish at this year’s World Cup.
The napkin contract
The Barcelona trial produced one of football’s more improbable documents. Carles Rexach, then the club’s sporting director, committed to signing the boy by writing the undertaking on a paper napkin, dated 14 December 2000, after an informal meeting.
Lionel made his professional debut in 2005. He has since won eight Ballon d’Or awards and captained Argentina to the World Cup in 2022.
None of it was inevitable. A family without means moving continents on the strength of a father’s judgement about a small, ill child is the part of the story that tends to get compressed into a sentence.
Related coverage
Sources for this report
The Redline News Desk
The Redline News desk files and edits world reporting. Every story carries the sources it was built from, and corrections are published on the story itself.
Leave a Reply