Tributes for Jorge Messi, the father and longtime agent of Lionel Messi, have poured in from across the sporting world since his death on Saturday at the age of 68. Among them was a message from Rafael Nadal, who reached out to Messi directly.

“Dear Leo (Lionel Messi), I can’t imagine the pain you must be going through,” he wrote on X. “I’m sending you all my love and my condolences to you and your entire family during this such difficult time. Rest in peace, Jorge.”

Jorge had spent his final months moving between a medical clinic and home in Rosario, and his declining health kept him from attending any of Argentina’s matches at the 2026 World Cup this summer. After the tournament ended, Messi spent time with his father in Rosario before returning to Inter Miami. He’d only just found his form again, scoring twice and adding an assist in a 4-2 win over Atlético San Luis on Wednesday, one of his sharpest performances of the summer.

Three days later, he was on a flight back to Argentina. Inter Miami played Monterrey in the Leagues Cup that Saturday night without him, and Diego Rossi’s 90th-minute goal handed the Herons a 2-1 defeat at home. It’s not yet known when Messi will return to the club.

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Nadal and Messi have never been particularly close off the field, the kind of friends who are photographed together often. But the respect between them runs deep, and it’s mutual.

Nadal and Messi’s mutual respect

Messi made the mutual respect that he has for Nadal clear during the World Cup. After scoring a hat trick in Argentina’s 3-0 opening win over Algeria, he revealed that the national team had been watching Nadal’s Netflix documentary for motivation before the tournament.

“I like playing football. It’s been my passion since I was little, and when I’m well, I give everything,” Messi said after the match. “We’re currently watching the Rafa Nadal series, and I can really identify with him, I think we’re very similar in that sense. I always want to give everything, I always want to feel good, and that’s how I enjoy myself. As long as I’m well enough to, I’ll be there.”

That documentary, a four-part look at Nadal’s final season on tour, had premiered on Netflix just weeks earlier and went on to earn an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Documentary Series this summer, a detail that likely kept it fresh in Messi’s mind as he leaned on it for inspiration heading into the tournament.

Messi has not commented publicly since his father’s death. Inter Miami has not announced when he’s expected to return.