Celia Cuccittini, Messi's mom: “I’m still crying” after Leo's retirement from the National Team

As soon as Lionel Messi made his definitive retirement from the Argentine National Team public, the echo of that decision immediately reached the heart of his family. Celia Cuccittini, the mother of the Rosario star, broke the silence and shared with rawness the moment they are going through at home.

In a WhatsApp communication with Adrián Pallares for the program Intrusos on América TV, Celia could not contain her emotion. With a trembling voice, she described the mix of sadness, pride, and resignation that is felt in the Messi household after two decades of absolute dedication to the light blue and white jersey.

“I’m watching them and I keep crying. Even though we already knew, the whole family is very sad, but the important thing is that he is happy,” she confessed. Those words, simple and heartbreaking, summed up the emotional impact of an ending that everyone knew was going to come, but still hurts when it becomes reality.

The “10”’s decision did not occur in a vacuum. It came in a family context marked by mourning for the death of Jorge Messi, Leo's father. The footballer himself had referred to that loss in his farewell letter, and his mother brought it back to the forefront with a breath-taking phrase.

The memory of Jorge Messi and the accumulating pain

“Dad always said: ‘What am I going to do when he no longer plays?’. And it all happened together, incredible,” Celia recounted. In a few words, she summarized how the end of her son's international career intersected with the void left by Jorge, a man who had accompanied every step of the star's journey from Rosario to the entire world.

For the family, retirement is not just the closing of a sports chapter. It is also the confirmation that a way of life comes to an end. For twenty years, the National Team was much more than a team: it was an extension of home, a source of collective pride, and, in difficult moments, a refuge. Now that chapter closes, and Celia's tears show just how deeply the news affects the intimate.