Argentine football legend Lionel Messi has hinted at retirement, casting doubts over continuing in the sport after losing his father, Jorge Messi. The Argentina captain shared an emotional post on social media, where he paid tribute to his father and cast doubt over his future. Reports recently surfaced of the Argentine captain taking an indefinite break from the sport.
“Pa, I still canโt believe youโre gone. I donโt fall, or rather, I donโt want to fall. Itโs very difficult for me to imagine that Iโm not going to see you anymore, that weโre not going to talk anymore. I know you were hurting, and itโs for the best, but you left too soon. We still had a lot to enjoy together,” Messi wrote on Instagram.ย
Messi hoped his father could see him play World Cup 2026
Messi revealed that his father asked him to play in the World Cup and that he hoped the senior Messi would be able to travel to see the final. “You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup, and days before the start was when you reached your worst. It was the first time you werenโt going to be at a tournament, but Mom told me that you were going to be better and that you were going to be fine to be able to travel. I told you that we were going to reach the final so you could travel,” the Argentine legend added.
He added that he waited for his father’s message: “Every time a game ended, I expected and missed your message. That’s when I realised that the situation was real. Even so, I kept thinking about getting as far as possible to give you time to watch a game. We reached the final, and you couldnโt be there. I wanted to win it to take the trophy and show you a new one. I couldn’t; my legs couldnโt take it anymore. This time I tried to go against my physique, but I couldnโt. I could never feel good.”
Messi shares ‘only thing’ his father didn’t know
The Argentine captain further stated that he couldn’t talk about what happened in the final to his father and shared the ‘only thing’ that he didn’t know. “When I arrived, you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldnโt talk about anything that happened. You couldnโt enjoy anything. We werenโt champions, but you donโt know how much we enjoyed every game. Again, you were right: I had to be there and play it.ย “Iโm telling you this because it was the only thing we couldnโt talk about, because you already know everything else. We talked every day and saw each other when we could because of my commitments.โ
Messi hints at retirement in post
He further admitted that he has doubts over his future in the sport. “I donโt know what Iโm going to do without you. I donโt know how to carry on. All I ever did was play football, and now I have serious doubts about whether Iโll keep doing it for much longer. You were by my side from the very beginning; there was so little left until the end. Why couldnโt you hold on just a little longer so we could finish it together?” Messi said.
Cristiano Ronaldo gives support to Messi
Meanwhile, Portugal captain and Messi’s long-time rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, lent his support to Messi over his emotional post. “A huge hug to you and yours in these tough times, Leo. Much strength,”ย Ronaldo commented on Messi’s post.
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Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge, passes away at 68 after battling prolonged health problems