Father is entertained by Messi breaking deadlock (7)
I believe the answer is:
impasse
'deadlock' is the definition.
(I know that deadlock can be written as impasse)
'father is entertained by messi breaking' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'is entertained by' indicates putting letters inside (entertain can mean to host or welcome in).
'breaking' indicates anagramming the letters.
'messi' anagrammed gives 'imsse'.
'pa' placed within 'imsse' is 'IMPASSE'.
(Other definitions for impasse that I've seen before include "Unpromising situation" , "Situation in which progress is impossible" , "There's no way past it" , "block" , "Lack of movement" .)