{"id":33202,"date":"2026-08-08T21:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33202"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:02:29","slug":"lionel-messis-father-jorge-dies-at-68-following-private-health-battle-just-jared-celebrity-news-and-gossip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33202","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi&#8217;s Father Jorge Dies at 68 Following Private Health Battle | Just Jared &#8211; Celebrity News and Gossip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-2261850\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- Franchise logo or primary category --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- subheader --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"tpd-post-thumbnail-container caption_belowImage credit_onImage\"><img width=\"788\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lionel-messi-dad-dies-788x444.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium tpd-force-16x9-aspect-ratio wp-post-image\" alt=\"Lionel Messi dad dies\" decoding=\"sync\" loading=\"eager\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lionel-messi-dad-dies-428x241.jpg 428w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lionel-messi-dad-dies-788x444.jpg 788w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100px, 788px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-cf-ratio=\"788x444\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit-text\">Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- \/post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/lionel-messi\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Lionel Messi<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s family is mourning a terrible loss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Saturday (August 8), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/49560549\/jorge-messi-father-lionel-dies-aged-68\">ESPN<\/a> confirmed that the 39-year-old Argentine soccer player\u2019s father <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/jorge-messi\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Jorge Messi<\/strong><\/a> has died. <strong>Jorge<\/strong>, who was also his son\u2019s agent, died Friday (August 7) at a hospital in his native Rosario, Argentina, after a prolonged illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Messi<\/strong> family had kept <strong>Jorge<\/strong>\u2018s health battle private until the beginning of the <em>2026 World Cup<\/em> just a few months ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After scoring in Argentina\u2019s opening match against Algeria on June 16, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/06\/17\/lionel-messi-explains-why-he-cried-after-scoring-world-cup-goal-against-algeria-in-3-0-win\/\"><strong>Lionel <\/strong>became as emotional<\/a> as he spoke with reporters, saying his tears <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/espn\/story\/_\/id\/49091163\/fifa-world-cup-2026-honor-tearful-lionel-messi-quotes-reacts-historic-hat-trick\">\u201chad noth<\/a>i<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/espn\/story\/_\/id\/49091163\/fifa-world-cup-2026-honor-tearful-lionel-messi-quotes-reacts-historic-hat-trick\">ng to do with football.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHonestly, completely unrelated to the sport,\u201d he told reporters following the match,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7368579\/2026\/06\/17\/lionel-messi-argentina-world-cup-algeria-emotional\/\">per <em>The Athletic<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI went through some difficult, complicated days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Messi <\/strong>family then released a statement revealing <strong>Jorge<\/strong>\u2018s health woes, while also slamming false narratives surrounding the patriarch.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large caption_belowImage credit_onImage mobile-image-full-width\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/messi-dad.jpg\" class=\"pss-trigger\" role=\"button\" data-pss-trigger=\"0\" aria-controls=\"pss-modal\" aria-label=\"Open gallery of 1 image.\" title=\"Open gallery of 1 image.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"529\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/messi-dad-788x529.jpg\" alt=\"Lionel Messi dad dies\" class=\"wp-image-2261851\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/messi-dad-788x529.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/messi-dad-428x287.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100px, 100vw\"\/><span class=\"pss-trigger__badge\" aria-hidden=\"true\">1<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Messi family informs that Jorge is going through a health-related situation,\u201d the <strong>Messi<\/strong> family <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/football\/story\/_\/id\/49108360\/argentina-star-lionel-messi-family-confirm-father-jorge-health-issue\">said<\/a> in a June 18 statement. \u201cAt this time, he is under medical care, recovering and evolving favorably given the condition he is experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn light of the rumors, speculation, and reports that have circulated in recent hours,\u201d the statement continued, \u201cthe family would like to express its deep disappointment over the lack of sensitivity, respect, and decency with which some individuals have treated what is strictly a private family matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Jorge<\/strong> is survived by his wife, <strong>Celia<\/strong>, and his four children: <strong>Lionel<\/strong> and his two older brothers, <strong>Rodrigo<\/strong> and <strong>Mat\u00edas<\/strong>, and <strong>Lionel<\/strong>\u2018s younger sister, <strong>Mar\u00eda Sol<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our thoughts are with the Messi family during this difficult time. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/rip\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">RIP<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"categories single-categories\">Posted To:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/jorge-messi\/\" rel=\"tag\">Jorge Messi<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/lionel-messi\/\" rel=\"tag\">Lionel Messi<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/rip\/\" rel=\"tag\">RIP<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Getty Lionel Messi\u2018s family is mourning a terrible loss. On Saturday (August 8), ESPN confirmed that the 39-year-old Argentine soccer player\u2019s father Jorge Messi has died. Jorge, who was also his son\u2019s agent, died Friday (August 7) at a hospital in his native Rosario, Argentina, after a prolonged illness. The Messi family had kept&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lionel-messi-dad-dies-1200x675.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}