Messi loses father, agent

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP): Jorge Messi, the father of football star and Argentina captain Lionel Messi, died yesterday at a hospital in the central Argentine city of Rosario. He was 68. Rosario-based Club Atlético Newell’s Old Boys announced his death in a social media post, noting that he had undergone treatment in recent months for an unspecified illness. The club described him as “the pillar and the person who, with vision, rigor and affection, supported the career of the best player of all time, alongside his wife, Celia Cuccittini”.