ROSARIO, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina football icon Lionel Messi bid farewell Sunday to his father Jorge, the global star’s emotional anchor and agent since childhood who passed away following a battle with cancer aged 68.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner touched down on a private flight from Miami late on Saturday with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their children.

A private ceremony with close family and a few Argentina teammates took place at a cemetery in the town of Perez, adjacent to Rosario, later Sunday.

The gates of the town’s El Prado cemetery displayed handwritten messages from fans — “Stay strong, Leo, we love you” and “Stay strong, Messi family” — alongside a large floral wreath.

Messi’s teammates rallied around their captain following the announcement that Jorge Messi had passed away late Friday at a clinic in Rosario.

“It will surely do him good for us to be there,” Boca Juniors midfielder Leandro Paredes told journalists after his team’s match on Saturday.

“I need to speak with a few of my teammates to see if we go now or sometime tomorrow.”

According to media reports midfielder Rodrigo de Paul — a close friend of Messi and his Inter Miami teammate — travelled to Argentina.

After scoring a goal in a 2-1 defeat to Monterrey in Miami on Saturday, De Paul paid tribute by taking off his shirt to reveal Messi’s number 10 jersey.

There was a handful of fans outside the cemetery, including 15-year-old Lucas Blanco, who hung a sign reading “Stay strong, Messi” on the gate.

“He has brought so much joy to this country, now it’s our turn to give a little back and offer him some comfort,” he said.

“We drove 700 kilometres to be here. We wanted to stand by Leo during this time,” said Carlos and Ana, a couple who travelled from Tres Arroyos, a town south of Buenos Aires.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but local media reported that Jorge Messi had been suffering from cancer.

His unusual absence from the World Cup in June had already attracted attention.

Messi’s family asked the media for “humanity” during the tournament amid persistent rumours over Jorge’s health.

After bursting into tears after scoring against Algeria, 39-year-old Messi had admitted to dealing with “a situation outside of sports”.

“I went through a few difficult, complicated days,” he later acknowledged. “But I am grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates, because they stood by me, as always.”

Immediately after the World Cup final defeat against Spain, Messi returned to spend a few days with his family in Rosario.

– Humble beginnings –

A guiding figure throughout his son’s career, Jorge Messi was his first coach who left everything behind to accompany his son to Spain.

A metalworker in Rosario, 340 km north of Buenos Aires, Jorge managed youth teams at the small local club Grandoli.

He was the one who introduced Argentina’s future captain to the game aged four on vacant lots where local kids played.

His life changed course in 2000 when Barcelona invited the young prodigy, then aged 13, to Catalonia to continue treatment for a growth hormone deficiency while playing for the club’s youth teams.

Jorge left behind his job in Argentina, his wife, and his three other children to settle in Spain with Lionel.

“When we arrived in Barcelona, I used to lock myself in my room to cry alone, and my father did the same — either without me seeing him or thinking I didn’t see him. We pretended we were both fine, but we were struggling,” Messi later said.

His father was later the agent who negotiated contracts on his behalf, from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.

Messages of sympathy have poured in since Saturday from the football world, including from the clubs Messi played for and the Spanish Football Federation.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) ordered a minute’s silence before matches and that black armbands be worn at games across all age groups for the week.