Lionel Messi’s father Jorge dies aged 68 after recent health problems

Jorge Messi, the father of footballing icon Lionel Messi has reportedly passed away at a hospital in Argentina at the age of 68.

Reliable Argentinian outlet Infobae claims to have the information on Messi’s father dying after suffering with a long illness in recent times.

This has since also been covered by major publications such as Marca and Goal, though it is still pending an official statement from the Messi family at the time of writing.

Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, and his father has long been strongly associated with him and his business affairs.

Lionel Messi addressed issues during World Cup

Messi spoke out about having some problems away from the pitch during the World Cup this summer, and this led to speculation about his father’s health at the time.

There was a false rumour then that Jorge had passed away, which was denied, though the family did confirm in a statement that he was going through a difficult situation with his health.

Messi himself had appeared tearful on the pitch after one game, and he admitted it was nothing to do with footballing matters.

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“Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football,” the former Barcelona star said, as quoted by BBC Sport.

“I went through some difficult days, but I’m grateful to the entire delegation and my team-mates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength to help me get through it.”

This is clearly a sad time for Messi and his family, and we here at CaughtOffside can only express our sincerest condolences to all of Jorge’s loved ones.