Break the news

To “break the news” means to make something known, often that is bad or upsetting. On Tuesday after “the news broke,” or after the information came out about Messi’s departure from Barcelona, Messi flew to Paris and disembarked from his private plane wearing a shirt saying, “Ice C’est Paris,” or “This is Paris,” PSG’s slogan. The doctor had to “break the news” to the patient about her cancer diagnosis.