Messi Pens Emotional Tribute to Late Father: 'Can I Continue Playing Without You?'

Football legend Lionel Messi, 39, has shared a long and heartfelt tribute to his late father, Jorge Messi.

After returning to Miami on the 11th (local time), Messi posted a letter to his father on his social media account.

Jorge Messi passed away on the 8th in Rosario, Argentina, at the age of 68.

Messi wrote, "I still cannot believe that you are gone. It is hard to imagine that I will no longer be able to see you or talk to you. We still had so much to enjoy together, but you left us too soon."

The most striking part of the letter was the story surrounding his father's battle with illness during the 2026 World Cup.

Messi revealed, "You begged me so much to play in what would be my final World Cup," adding that "just days before the tournament opened, your condition worsened the most."

At the time, Messi had hoped his father would recover and come to watch the matches in person.

He recalled, "I told you that we would go all the way to the final so you could come then. I waited for your message after every match, and it was only then that I realized how serious the situation truly was."

Messi said he played through the tournament with the desire to show his father even one more match.

He wrote, "I wanted to somehow buy time and go as far as possible so you could watch at least one game in person."

Argentina reached the final, but Jorge was unable to watch the match live.

Messi wrote, "I wanted to win and bring the trophy to you and show you another new one. But I couldn't. This time I tried to defy my physical limits, but it was impossible. My legs had no strength left."

Messi also shared the situation when he visited his father after the World Cup.

He wrote, "When I arrived, you thought we had lost the final in a penalty shootout. I couldn't tell you everything that had happened. You weren't able to enjoy any of it."

He added, "You will never know how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were right. I had to be there and I had to play (in the World Cup)."

Messi also candidly confessed how his father's death would impact his future football career.

He wrote, "I don't know what I should do without you, or how I can keep going. I only ever played football, and now I am not sure whether I can continue doing this for much longer."

Expressing his profound longing for a father who passed away before his retirement, he continued, "You were by my side from the very beginning, and with so little left until the very end, why couldn't you hold on just a little bit longer and finish it together with me?"

Messi is not the only Argentine football figure whose motivation for the sport has been shaken by the shock of losing a father.

Boca Juniors legend and former Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus forward Carlos Tevez suspended his playing career after losing his father, Segundo, in 2021. He officially announced his retirement the following year, stating, "I stopped playing football because I lost my number one fan."

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.