For nearly three decades, Jorge Horacio Messi managed the football career he never had himself. He died in Rosario, Argentina, after an illness his family had asked the public not to speculate about.
Jorge Horacio Messi, the father, first coach and longtime business representative of footballer Lionel Messi, died in Rosario, Argentina, in the early hours of Saturday, August 8, 2026, according to a statement from Sanatorio Centro, the clinic that treated him. He was 68. Statements issued the previous evening by Newell’s Old Boys and members of the Messi family led some early reports to date his death to Friday, August 7; the clinic’s own account, released Saturday morning, places it after midnight. Its medical director, Dr. Carlos Mackey, confirmed the death but said no further details about its cause would be released, citing the family’s request for privacy. Jorge Messi had been treated for an undisclosed illness for much of the past year.
Quick facts
Full name Jorge Horacio Messi
Born Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina, 1958 (exact date not publicly confirmed)
Died Rosario, Argentina, August 8, 2026, aged 68 Known forFather, first coach and longtime agent of footballer Lionel Messi SpouseCelia Cuccittini Children Rodrigo, Matías, Lionel and María Sol Messi Occupation Former steel-plant supervisor; later sports agent and business manager
From the steel plant to the touchline
Before he negotiated contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Jorge Messi supervised production lines. Argentine outlets including Diario Uno and Minuto Uno report that he trained as a chemical technician and worked for years at Acindar, a major steel producer with a plant in Villa Constitución, near Rosario, eventually rising into a management role there. As a young man he had played as a midfielder in the Newell’s Old Boys youth system — the same academy his youngest son would later join — but his own playing days ended with Argentina’s mandatory military service. After that, football stayed a part of family life rather than becoming a livelihood.
He and his wife, Celia Cuccittini, raised four children in Rosario: Rodrigo, Matías, Lionel and María Sol. Lionel, born in 1987, began playing organized football at four at a neighborhood club called Grandoli, where Jorge served as one of his earliest coaches, according to multiple biographical accounts of the family’s history in Rosario.
The trip that changed both their lives
Around age eleven, Lionel was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency requiring years of expensive treatment. Argentine coverage of the family’s history describes Jorge negotiating first with local clubs and eventually with FC Barcelona to help cover the cost. In September 2000, he took his 13-year-old son to Spain for a trial at Barcelona’s academy, La Masia — the trip that pulled the family out of Rosario and into the commercial machinery of professional football. Lionel Messi made his first-team debut for Barcelona in 2005 and went on to win eight Ballon d’Or awards and lead Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title.
2000
Jorge takes 13-year-old Lionel to Barcelona for a trial at La Masia, negotiating with the club to help fund treatment for a growth hormone deficiency.
2005
Lionel makes his first-team debut for FC Barcelona; Jorge steps fully into the role of agent and business manager.
2016–17
A Barcelona court convicts father and son of tax fraud; Spain’s Supreme Court upholds the conviction on appeal in 2017.
2021 & 2023
Jorge negotiates Lionel’s transfers to Paris Saint-Germain and then Inter Miami.
2026
An undisclosed illness becomes public during the World Cup; Jorge Messi dies in Rosario on August 8, aged 68.
Agent, negotiator, business manager
From 2005 onward, Jorge Messi’s role shifted from parent to professional representative. He negotiated his son’s contracts with Barcelona and, later, his transfers to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and Inter Miami in 2023, according to Associated Press reporting distributed after his death. He also oversaw the commercial side of his son’s fame — image-rights agreements, sponsorship deals, and an expanding portfolio of investments in real estate, hotels and restaurants, including VIP Rosario, a family-owned restaurant that closed for the day once his death was announced.
A conviction that followed them both
In 2013, Spanish prosecutors accused Jorge and Lionel Messi of using shell companies registered in Belize and Uruguay to avoid tax on roughly €4.1 million (about $4.6 million) that Lionel earned from image-rights deals with sponsors including Adidas, Danone and Pepsi between 2007 and 2009. Jorge Messi paid more than €5 million to cover the disputed taxes and interest that August, before either man stood trial.
A Barcelona court convicted both father and son on three counts of tax fraud in July 2016. Both denied wrongdoing and said they had relied on financial advisers; the court rejected that defense. Each received a 21-month sentence, but because Spanish law generally suspends prison terms under two years for first-time, non-violent offenders, neither man served time. Spain’s Supreme Court upheld the conviction on appeal in 2017, reducing Jorge Messi’s sentence to fifteen months in recognition of his cooperation and the repayment already made. The case did not end his role as his son’s representative; he went on negotiating Lionel’s contracts for the rest of his career.
A private illness surfaces during a World Cup
Jorge Messi had occasionally been the subject of unfounded death rumors circulating online in earlier years, reports that were later confirmed false. His actual decline was quieter. During Argentina’s opening match of the 2026 World Cup against Algeria in June, Lionel Messi was visibly emotional after scoring, wiping away tears that broadcasters initially read as pure sporting emotion. He later told reporters the reaction
“wasn’t related to football”Lionel Messi, quoted by Al Jazeera, June 2026
describing several difficult preceding days. Two days later, the Messi family confirmed in a statement, reported by Al Jazeera and other outlets, that Jorge was undergoing medical treatment for a health issue it did not name, and asked for privacy after what it described as insensitive online speculation. Argentina went on to reach the World Cup final, losing to Spain on July 19.
Death and tributes
Jorge Messi’s death was confirmed on August 8 in a sequence of statements from the clinic, from Newell’s Old Boys — the club Jorge had supported as a fan and where Lionel began his youth career — and subsequently from FC Barcelona, Inter Miami, Paris Saint-Germain and the South American football confederation, CONMEBOL. Newell’s Old Boys described him, in a statement carried by NBC News, as central to the family’s support of his son’s career alongside his wife, Celia. Barcelona thanked him for entrusting the club with his son’s early development; Inter Miami and PSG each offered condolences to the family. UNICEF, for which Lionel Messi has long served as a goodwill ambassador, noted Jorge’s own sustained involvement with the organization. Claudio Tapia, president of Argentina’s football federation, praised the values Jorge had instilled in his son, and the federation ordered a moment of silence and black armbands at matches across the country.
“My dad was always by my side”Lionel Messi, 2007 interview with Radio del Plata
That line, given nearly two decades before his father’s death, has resurfaced repeatedly in Argentine coverage of the loss.
What remains undocumented
Consistent with the family’s stated wishes, no publication reviewed for this article has confirmed the specific illness that led to Jorge Messi’s death, and this article does not speculate about it. His exact date of birth has also not been confirmed in verified reporting; several outlets place his birth year at 1958, but no primary or independent source reviewed here specifies a day and month. Where sources disagree — for instance, on whether he died late on August 7 or in the early hours of August 8 — this account follows the treating clinic’s own statement, the most direct source available, while noting the discrepancy.
A note on sourcing. This article draws on statements from the hospital that treated Jorge Messi, football clubs and federations that issued tributes, and reporting from wire services and major news organizations published within hours of his death, cross-checked against one another. It does not rely on social media speculation, unsourced biography sites, or claims about his finances or health that have not been independently reported.
Frequently asked questions
Was Jorge Messi Lionel Messi’s official agent?
Yes. After his son turned professional in 2005, Jorge Messi negotiated his contracts and represented his commercial interests for the rest of his career, according to Associated Press and other wire reporting distributed after his death.
Did Jorge Messi serve prison time for tax fraud?
No. He and Lionel Messi were convicted of tax fraud in 2016 and given prison sentences of under two years, which Spanish law generally suspends for first-time, non-violent offenders. Neither man served time.
How many children did Jorge Messi have?
Four, with his wife, Celia Cuccittini: Rodrigo, Matías, Lionel and María Sol.
What was the cause of Jorge Messi’s death?
The clinic that treated him did not disclose a cause, citing the family’s request for privacy, and no reliable source reviewed for this article has established one.
Primary sources cited
- Sanatorio Centro (Rosario) death confirmation, via CNN, “Jorge Messi, father and agent of Argentine football legend Lionel Messi, dies at 68,” Aug. 8, 2026
- ESPN, “Jorge Messi, the father of Lionel, dies at 68,” Aug. 8, 2026
- NBC News, “Jorge Messi, father of soccer legend Lionel Messi, dies at age 68,” Aug. 8, 2026
- Al Jazeera, “Lionel Messi’s father undergoing treatment for health issues, family says,” June 18, 2026
- BBC, “Lionel Messi handed jail term in Spain for tax fraud,” July 2016
- VOA News, “Messi Loses Supreme Court Appeal of Tax-fraud Conviction,” May 2017
- TRT World, “Spain’s Supreme Court upholds Messi’s tax fraud sentence,” 2017
