Five days after Jorge Messi died in Rosario, his son is still in Argentina and Inter Miami still has no idea when he will be back.
Head coach Guillermo Hoyos was asked this week whether he had any timeline for his captain’s return. His answer, reported by World Soccer Talk, was one word: “Nothing.”
“Regarding Leo, we know what happened, and it is a huge shame, a source of great pain, and we have really felt that impact,” Hoyos told reporters.
“It has been very hard. Often, there are no words for it. When you go through such a difficult experience, it is hard to recover, yet it is something we all face.”
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The 39-year-old missed Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup defeat to Monterrey on the day his father died and traveled to Rosario to be with his family. He was absent again on Wednesday, when the Herons were eliminated from the tournament after a 3-2 loss to Club León.
Messi: “I don’t know how to carry on”
On Wednesday, Messi himself broke his silence with a long tribute on Instagram addressed directly to his father.
“Dad, I still can’t believe you’re gone. I can’t take it in, or rather, I don’t want to,” he wrote.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to carry on.”
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Halfway through the post, Messi turned to his career.
“All I ever did was play football, and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.”
Argentine and international outlets have read those words as the clearest signal yet that Jorge’s death may bring an early end to his son’s playing career.
The World Cup Jorge had asked for
Jorge Messi was 68 and had been ill for months. The family has not publicly disclosed the cause of death, describing only a long illness, and his funeral was held on Sunday evening in Pérez, near Rosario.
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His illness had already shadowed the 2026 World Cup, where Messi played almost every minute of Argentina’s run to a final they lost 1-0 to Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on 19 July, Ferran Torres striking the winner in extra time.
“You always asked me to play in the last World Cup, and a few days before it started was when you got worse,” Messi wrote.
“We made it to the final, but you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it to bring it to you and show you a new one.”
Fuerza Leo at Nu Stadium
Before the Club León game, Inter Miami held a moment of silence for Jorge, his name on the stadium screens and the players wearing black armbands. In the 10th minute, supporters unfurled a “Fuerza Leo” banner and chanted his name.
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Messi’s contract with Inter Miami runs to the end of the 2028 MLS season. Three years of football remain on the deal. Nobody at the club, right now, knows when their captain will next put on the pink shirt.
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