Lionel Messi landed in Rosario on Sunday — his first public appearance since the death of his father, Jorge, at 68. He descended the steps of a private aircraft alongside his wife Antonela Roccuzzo, back in the city where everything started.
Jorge Messi wasn't just a father in the background. He was Lionel's advisor and representative for years, the man who pushed a young kid with a growth hormone condition from Rosario to Barcelona and helped him navigate one of the most scrutinised careers in sporting history. Newell's Old Boys, Messi's first club, called him "the pillar" behind his son's journey. That's not sentiment. That's accurate.
Inter Miami felt the absence immediately
The club granted Messi compassionate leave without hesitation, and on Saturday night against Monterrey in the Leagues Cup, the weight of it showed. Players wore black armbands. A minute's silence before kickoff. Inter Miami's statement — "Our hearts are with our captain, Leo, and the entire Messi family" — was brief and genuine.
Rodrigo De Paul, one of Messi's closest friends and his Argentina teammate for years, scored and immediately pulled off his jersey to reveal a shirt underneath reading: "Messi 10." It was the kind of tribute that doesn't need explanation.
Miami still lost, 2-1.
A team built around one player tends to look exactly like that when the player isn't there. Anyone watching Inter Miami's Leagues Cup odds this week should factor in that Messi's return timeline is still unknown — and the squad's depth without him has been a recurring question all season.
When does he come back?
Nobody knows yet. Messi is in Rosario for a private memorial service, and Inter Miami hasn't given a timeframe. FC Barcelona and the Argentine Football Association both issued condolences. The football world has acknowledged what happened. Now it waits.
Jorge Messi was 68 years old.
