Lionel Messi’s departure from PSG: his father Jorge is back at the center of the game

Very few people know the secret of the gods of the Argentinian football legend, Lionel Messi. The forward will play his final game at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) against Clermont on Saturday, June 3, and if anyone has any idea what the future holds for the world champion, it’s probably his father’s agent, Jorge Messi. The latter has been negotiating “Pulga” (“chip”) contracts behind the scenes since its inception.

In the football industry, it is rare to see parents looking out for their child’s best interests. Only at PSG: Neymar’s father has been involved everywhere in the Brazilian’s career, while Wilfried Mbappe and Faiza Lamar have meticulously managed their son Kylian’s career from an early age.

But Messi Sr., 65, was a forerunner. He became an agent in the early 2000s by force of circumstance. The tale, everyone knows: young Leo, who plays for Newell’s Old Boys club in Rosario, 300 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, suffers from a growth deficiency and must follow hormone treatment. The health coverage that her father has from her job allows her to be supported… until the economic crisis hits the country.

Jorge then goes to Spain, Catalonia to be exact, with the 13-year-old prodigy and manages to convince Barcelona to pay for his treatment. Father and son will settle there, while the rest of the family stays in Rosario. “Jorge goes from a steel mill supervisor to a future global nugget agent.” He is an autodidact who accompanied his son from the beginning of his career.Florent Torchut, journalist, explains French football and the author of the biography King Leo (Sun, 2022).

The patriarch of the family

At the beginning, precisely, the advisers accompany Jorge, who discovers the trade. “They have been erased from history. Jorge passed them for the lead.– says a source who knows Messi’s clan well. Leo needs no one else but someone who blindly trusts his father. “Among three brothers [Rodrigo et Matias, frères aînés du joueur], Lionel is most similar to Jorge. The latter is protected and cautious »Alfredo Martínez, a journalist from the Spanish radio station Onda Cero, who was with Messi after his arrival in Catalonia, describes.

Quietly – he prefers not to attract attention – Jorge built a network and influence as his son established himself as the world’s best player in the late 2000s. aspects of marketing and communications, but he remains his son’s privileged adviser on matters. Sports nature. “The term returns again: sports project. Jorge always revives the negotiations on the sports project, the ambitions of the club.Florent Torchut explains.