Messi scores first goal since father’s death as Inter Miami draw 2-2 with Philadelphia Union

PENNSYLVANIA: Star Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, on Wednesday (local time), scored his first goal since his father Jorge Messi’s death earlier this month. Messi’s goal came in his team Inter Miami’s 2-2 draw with Philadelphia Union in the Major League Soccer (MLS) match at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Messi’s goal came in the 26th minute. Messi evaded his marker before firing a left-footed strike into the net to put Miami 2-1 ahead in the first half, with his teammates quickly surrounding him in celebration. However, it was Union’s Neil Pierre who scored in the 58th minute to equalise. Notably, the draw brought an end to defending MLS Cup champions Miami’s three-match losing streak.

MAGIC from Messi as @InterMiamiCF take the lead over the Union! pic.twitter.com/lJ5tpDMUIA

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 20, 2026

Jorge Messi, 68, died at a clinic in Rosario on Saturday after a prolonged illness, leaving the Argentine football icon facing a deeply personal loss.

In a heartfelt message on social media after Jorge’s death, Messi recalled his father’s unwavering support, their shared World Cup dreams and the pain of losing him, admitting that he is struggling to imagine life without him. In a post on Instagram, Messi uploaded a picture with his late father and wrote a heartfelt message for him.

Messi expressed deep grief over his father’s death, saying he still struggled to accept the loss and felt Jorge had left too soon. He recalled how his father urged him to play in the 2026 World Cup despite his worsening health, while Messi remained hopeful that Jorge would recover enough to attend the tournament’s final.

“Dad, I still can’t believe you’re gone. It hasn’t sunk in–or rather, I don’t want it to sink in. It’s so hard to imagine that I won’t see you again, that we won’t talk anymore. I know you were suffering and that this is for the best, but you left too soon. We still had so much left to enjoy together. You kept asking me to play in that last World Cup, but just days before it started, your condition took a turn for the worse. It was the first time you wouldn’t be at a tournament, but Mom kept telling me you’d improve and be well enough to travel. I kept telling you we’d make it to the final so you could come,” Messi wrote in the post.

Messi captained Argentina to the final of the World Cup 2026 but lost to Spain in the final, failing to defend the title. (ANI)