Lionel Messi has said goodbye to his father, Jorge Messi, in an intensely personal message that reveals how his father's deteriorating health affected him during the FIFA World Cup and raises serious questions about whether the Argentine superstar wants to continue playing soccer.
Four days after burying the man who was his father, friend, and representative for virtually his entire career, the 39-year-old Inter Miami star shared a lengthy message Wednesday reflecting on the enormous void Jorge's death has left in his life.
"I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I don't know how to go on," Messi wrote in the emotional tribute. "I'm really not sure if I'll carry on doing it for much longer."
Jorge Messi died last week at 68 in Rosario, Argentina, after an illness. His health had deteriorated before this summer's World Cup, something the family had acknowledged during the tournament while asking for privacy.
Now Messi has revealed just how much his father's condition was affecting him as he tried to lead Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup title.
"Your health got worse before the World Cup, and I was worried about you," Messi wrote, according to reports carrying his statement. He explained that he went into the tournament dealing not only with the enormous expectations surrounding Argentina but also with the knowledge that his father was seriously ill.
The circumstances also give new meaning to some of Messi's most emotional moments during the global soccer competition. After scoring a hat trick in Argentina's opening match, Messi broke down in tears. At the time, his father's health problems had become public, but Messi had revealed little about what he was experiencing personally.
In Wednesday's message, he made clear that Jorge was one of the reasons he was so determined to keep playing.
"I wanted to win another World Cup; I couldn't," Messi wrote, explaining that he had wanted to give his father another championship before losing him. Argentina ultimately reached the final but fell to Spain, denying Messi the chance to repeat the historic triumph he achieved with his country in Qatar in 2022.
Messi also acknowledged that physically he had not been at his best during the tournament, while emotionally he was carrying a situation that extended far beyond soccer.
The farewell is particularly poignant because Jorge Messi was never simply a parent watching his son's career from the stands.
Messi described him as his "dad, friend, and representative," three roles Jorge had occupied for most of his son's life. He had managed Lionel's professional affairs since the player was a teenager and remained one of the most influential people behind his career through Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Inter Miami.
When Messi was a child in Rosario and his extraordinary talent became impossible to ignore, Jorge helped guide the decision that would change the family's life. At 13, Lionel left Argentina for Barcelona, where the club agreed to bring him into its famed youth academy and help provide the medical treatment he needed for a growth hormone deficiency.
Jorge subsequently became his son's agent and remained deeply involved in negotiations throughout Messi's career, including the turbulent end of his time at Barcelona and his eventual move to the United States.
That lifelong partnership helps explain why Messi's comments about his playing future carry so much weight.
"I don't know what I'm going to do without you," Messi wrote. His admission that he is uncertain whether he will continue playing "for much longer" is not a formal retirement announcement, but it is one of his clearest acknowledgments yet that the end could be approaching.
Messi turned 39 in June and had already faced years of questions about when he would retire. The 2026 World Cup was widely expected to be his final appearance in the competition, although Messi had resisted setting a definitive date for the end of his career.
The post also looked beyond soccer.
Messi spoke about the values Jorge had given him and his desire to carry those lessons into his own family. Messi and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, are parents to three sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.
His tribute drew an immediate response from across the sports world, as players, athletes and figures close to Messi offered their condolences and support. David Beckham was among those publicly reaching out, while Cristiano Ronaldo also sent a message following the death of the father of his longtime rival.
But the most powerful words came from Messi himself.
For more than two decades, soccer fans watched Jorge Messi accompany his son from the prodigy who left Rosario for Barcelona to an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and, finally, a World Cup champion with Argentina.
Now Lionel Messi is facing something entirely unfamiliar: imagining both his life and his career without him.
"I love you, Dad," Messi wrote.
