Just four days after the death of his father, Jorge, Lionel Messi returned to action overnight Wednesday. The Inter Miami captain was named to the squad for the Leagues Cup match against Mexico’s León, started on the bench and came on at the start of the second half with his team leading 1-0. But the emotional comeback ended in disappointment as Miami lost 3-2 and was eliminated from the tournament.
Messi’s father, Jorge, a central figure in his son’s career who also served for years as his representative, died at age 68 in a hospital in Rosario. Messi flew to Argentina and attended a private funeral, missing the 2-1 loss to Monterrey over the weekend, but surprised Miami staff when he returned to the United States and arrived at the team’s training complex ahead of the match against León.
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An earlier-than-expected comeback; Messi with Inter Miami
(Photo: Rich Storry/Getty Images North America/AFP)
'Shows how much he cares'; Messi
(Photo: Rich Storry/Getty Images North America/AFP)
“It's incredible. I wasn't expecting it and it shows how much he cares,” Miami midfielder Yannick Bright said. Teammate Casemiro also spoke about Messi’s return: “He sets a great example. After all, he is surely going through a very difficult time, but the commitment he has shown, not just to the players but to the club, has been incredible. I've never seen anything like it in my life.”
On the field, Miami twice took the lead, but León came back both times, with Daniel Arcila completing a brace by scoring the winner in the 83rd minute. The defeat left Miami with one win and two losses in the group stage, eliminating the club from the knockout rounds.
The game's viral moment — a collision turned into a hug, and the opponent took advantage
(Photo: Lynne Sladky/AP)
Just a day earlier, Messi shared an Instagram post describing what his father had meant to him.
“Dad, I still can’t believe you’re gone,” Messi wrote. “It is very hard for me to imagine that I won’t see you anymore and that we won’t talk anymore.
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I played soccer only for you, and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it much longer.”
He added: “You were by my side from the beginning, and there was so little left until the end. Why couldn’t you hold on a little longer so we could finish it together?”
Messi described his father as someone who accompanied him at nearly every step, from childhood to the pinnacle of world soccer.
“You were a father, a friend and a representative. You were always the person you needed to be at every moment,” he wrote.
He ended the farewell with a personal message: “I will miss you very much, but you will always be present, especially in the way I raise my children. Rest in peace and watch over us from above as you did here. Thank you for everything. I love you, Dad.”