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Update: Lionel Messi's dad suffering 'serious health problems' after he broke down in tears during hat-trick vs Algeria
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Lionel Messi became emotional after scoring at the World Cup because his father, Jorge, is struggling with a serious health problem, according to an insider.
The 39-year-old made history on Tuesday night by tying Miroslav Klose’s record for most men’s World Cup goals after scoring a hat trick to lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria.
When he scored his first goal for Argentina in their 3-0 victory against Algeria, he started weeping on the pitch.
After the match, when asked why he was so emotional, he said: “No, honestly it’s something completely unrelated to sports. It’s been a few difficult days, complicated.”
He also added: “I had some difficult, complicated days, but I’m grateful to the entire delegation, to all my team-mates because they were always by my side, as always, giving me a lot of strength to be okay, and that’s all.”
Not long after, sports reporter Eduardo Feinmann revealed on one of the country’s most listened-to stations, Radio Mitre, that his father is unwell. He said: “This has to do with his father. His father is not in good health. For quite some time now, several months, since last year.
“And this week there were some situations that slightly worsened his health, and Messi is going through this internal struggle. In other words, like any human being.”
It has also been reported that Jorge endured a “medical episode” in January while at home, which resulted in him going to the hospital. The reports also indicate that he has undergone cardiovascular and neurological tests.
Messi’s father has been a huge influence on his football career and continues to act as the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s agent and business manager.
