Messi plays in Inter Miami defeat by Leon only hours after retirement hint

Argentina star Lionel Messi hinted at retirement on Wednesday before featuring in Inter Miami’s defeat by Leon.Published On 13 Aug 202613 Aug 2026Lionel Messi made an emotional return to action following his father’s death and hinted at retirement, but it was not enough to prevent his Inter Miami side from being knocked out of the Leagues Cup in a 3-2 loss to Mexico’s Leon.The Miami captain flew back to Florida from Argentina on Tuesday night after attending the funeral of his father, Jorge, on Sunday and came on at half-time to a massive ovation.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Blockbuster $12.5bn deal as Kushner, Iger, purchase NBA Lakers franchiselist 2 of 4Bangladesh and India battle to save cricket series after political turmoillist 3 of 4Hockey World Cup 2026: India-Pakistan blockbuster headlines tournament drawlist 4 of 4Palestinian club football to restart in September after Gaza war suspensionend of listJorge, who was his son’s agent, died last week at the age of 68.On Wednesday morning, Messi posted an emotional tribute to his father on social media, admitting that he wasn’t sure he wanted to continue playing football.“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I...