Lionel Messi takes a break from professional football: Report

Lionel Messi (Pic: File Pic)

The demise of his father, Jorge, has forced Argentina's football great Lionel Messi to keep his professional commitments aside.

According to Doble Marilla, he will not return to the United States to represent Inter Miami until further notice.

Jorge had been struggling with health issues for a while. The details of his health condition had been kept private by the family.

Earlier, Lionel had scored his first two goals since the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2026. With this, he took the career scoring lead in the Leagues Cup as Inter Miami overcame an early deficit to beat Atletico San Luis 4-2 on a rainy night.

The match at Nu Stadium was delayed 30 minutes in the second half because of lightning in the area. Messi scored in the 11th and the 44th minutes.

He has 14 goals in 12 Leagues Cup matches - one ahead of Los Angeles FC's Denis Bouanga for most in the tournament's four-year history. Telasco Segovia and defender Micael also scored, and Noah Allen had three assists as Inter Miami extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches. Messi returned to Miami's starting lineup in his second match since the World Cup, where he led Argentina to its second straight final appearance before La Albiceleste lost 1-0 to Spain.

Messi led Miami to the Leagues Cup title in 2023 shortly after his arrival with the club. Inter Miami reached the final again last year, losing 3-0 to Seattle in a match that ended with a brawl involving Luis Suarez.

The veteran forward appeared to spit toward a member of the Sounders' staff and grabbed at least one Seattle player by the neck during the melee, resulting in a six-match tournament suspension. That means Suarez, who has seven goals in the past four matches, was not available Wednesday and will not play in this year's tournament.

Lionel Messi's donation to reconstruction efforts in Madrid

The 39-year-old footballer also donated a sum of 80,000 euros to the reconstruction efforts in areas of Madrid. Earlier, people witnessed extremely destructive wildfires that swept through Madrid in recent weeks.

(With Inputs from Agencies)