Inter Miami and Rodrigo De Paul accompanied Lionel Messi on a day marked by the death of his father, Jorge Messi, during the 2-1 defeat against Monterrey for the second round of the Leagues Cup 2026.
Messi traveled to Rosario, Argentina, to attend his father’s funeral, so he was not present at the meeting. His teammates took to the field with black armbands and the stadium observed a minute of silence in memory of Jorge Messi.
Inter Miami fans also expressed their solidarity with the Argentine captain through posters with messages such as “I’m sorry, Messi”, “I love you Messi” and “Fuerza Leo”, as well as a tifo with the footballer’s face.
De Paul dedicated his goal to Messi
Rodrigo De Paul was the protagonist of one of the most emotional moments of the night. At 32 minutes, the Argentine received an assist from Casemiro and scored with a powerful shot from about 25 meters.
Immediately afterwards, De Paul took off his number 7 shirt to show another one with Messi’s number 10. Then he looked up at the sky, in a clear gesture of support for his partner and friend.
Monterrey reacted in the second half. Hugo Cuypers equalized in the 47th minute, while Diego Rossi scored the final 2-1 in the 90th minute.
Monterrey coach Matías Almeyda also had words of support for Messi and recalled the recent death of his own father.
“Everyone who loses their father in life goes through a really painful moment,” said the Argentine coach, who assured that he understood the difficult moment that Messi and his family are going through.
Before the match, Inter Miami also announced that its coach, Guillermo Hoyos, and the players would not offer statements after the match as an exceptional measure due to the situation.
With the defeat, Inter Miami was left with three points in eleventh place in the MLS Zone, while Monterrey achieved its first three points and placed seventh in the Liga MX Zone.
