Lionel Messi and his father Jorge Messi (Getty Images)Jorge Messi, the father of footballing icon Lionel Messi has reportedly passed away at a hospital in Argentina at the age of 68. Reliable Argentinian outlet Infobae claims to have the information on Messi’s father dying after suffering with a long illness in recent times. This has since also been covered by major publications such as Marca and Goal, though it is still pending an official statement from the Messi family at the time of writing. Lionel Messi addressed issues during World CupMessi spoke out about having some problems away from the pitch during the World Cup this summer, and this led to speculation about his father’s health at the time. There was a false rumour then that Jorge had passed away, which was denied, though the family did confirm in a statement that he was going through a difficult situation with his health.