Lionel Messi returned to Inter Miami CF on Wednesday following the death of his father, Jorge Messi. The Argentine captain was named on the bench for the club’s Leagues Cup match against Club León at Nu Stadium.
Jorge Messi died on Saturday at a hospital in Rosario, Argentina, at the age of 68.
Messi travelled to Rosario on Saturday, where reports in Argentina said he attended a private memorial service with his family. On his return to Inter Miami, the 39-year-old was initially named among the substitutes.
With Miami leading 1-0 at half-time, Messi entered the game after the break. He replaced Dániel Pintér, who had scored the opening goal for the home side.
Earlier on Wednesday, Messi shared an emotional message on Instagram in memory of his father. He also spoke about how difficult it was to play at the World Cup, where Argentina lost to Spain in the final, while his father was dealing with an unspecified illness.
“You asked me to play in this last World Cup so many times and just before it started was when you were at your worst,” Messi wrote. “It was the first time you were not at a tournament, but mum told me you would get better and you would be able to travel. I told you we would reach the final so you could. When each game finished, I waited for and then missed your messages. That was when I realized how bad the situation was. But I did not stop thinking about going as far as possible, to give you time and for you to be able to see a game if we reached the final.
“But you could not be there. I wanted to win it to bring it home and show you [the World Cup] again. I couldn’t, my legs had nothing left to give. I tried, but I couldn’t. You thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn’t speak about anything that had happened. I couldn’t enjoy anything. We were not champions in the end, but you don’t know how much we enjoyed every game. You were right once again: I had to be there and play at the World Cup.”
Lionel Messi arrives at Nu Stadium ahead of Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Club León.
Inter Miami manager Guillermo Hoyos said Jorge’s death had been “a source of great pain” inside the dressing room, with the club supporting Messi during this difficult period.
“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 said on Tuesday. “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. In a way, we never truly learn from it because the pain is so intense.”
When asked on Tuesday, Hoyos had not confirmed when Messi would return to the Inter Miami squad.
However, the Argentine captain returned on Wednesday and started the match on the bench before coming on after half-time as Miami looked to reach the Leagues Cup knockout stage.
Inter Miami won their opening match against Atlético San Luis before losing to Monterrey on Saturday, when Messi was away with his family following his father’s death.
