Lionel Messi Reflects on Father's Death and Football Future

Lionel Messi has laid bare the deepest doubt of his career, admitting he is no longer sure he wants to keep playing football in the wake of his father Jorge’s death.

In a raw, emotional open letter posted on Instagram, the 39-year-old spoke of the “immense void” left by Jorge, who died last week at the age of 68, and confessed that his drive to continue may have gone with him.

“I don't know what I'm going to do without you, I don't know how to go on,” Messi wrote. “I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I'll keep doing it for much longer. You were by my side from the beginning; there was so little left until the end. Why couldn't you hold on that little bit more so we could finish together?”

Those lines have sent a shudder through the sport. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has long been football’s constant. Suddenly, even that feels fragile.

World Cup pain behind the smile

Messi revealed that his final World Cup tilt was played under a heavy, private cloud. While the world watched him chase back-to-back titles with Argentina, his father’s health was deteriorating at home.

“You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup, and it was in the days just before it started that you got the worst,” he wrote. “It was the first time you weren't going to be at a tournament, but Mum told me that you were going to get better and that you'd be well enough to travel. I told you we were going to reach the final so you could travel.”

That became his mission. Each game was not just about a nation, but about buying his father more time.

“Every time a match ended, I waited for and missed your message. That's when I realised the situation was really bad.”

Argentina did reach the final, only to lose 1-0 to Spain and surrender the crown they had claimed in 2022. Messi admitted that by the end, his body had nothing left to give.

“Even so, I didn't stop thinking about going as far as possible, to buy you time and so you could see a match. We reached the final and you couldn't be there. I wanted to win it to bring it to you and show you a new one. I couldn't: my legs wouldn't give any more. This time I tried to go against my body, but I couldn't. I never managed to feel good.”

When he finally made it back to his father’s side, even that World Cup run felt strangely distant.

“When I arrived, you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn't talk about anything that happened. You couldn't enjoy anything. We weren't champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every single match. Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play it.”

The architect of a legend

Jorge Messi was never just a proud dad in the stands. He was the driving force behind one of football’s greatest stories.

It was Jorge who pushed Barcelona to take a chance on a small, shy kid from Rosario. He was the one who fought for the club to cover the costly growth hormone treatments, sealing that first commitment in the now-famous agreement scribbled on a paper napkin.

Messi’s tribute underlined just how many roles his father filled.

“For many of them Mum took me because you were working. Obviously you never missed a single match,” he wrote. “How you suffered watching me and how you enjoyed it, even though you never gave me many compliments. You were dad, friend and representative. You were always the person you needed to be in every moment and you never got anything wrong. Beyond a few reproaches or arguments, you were always right. In the end it always turned out the way you said.”

From youth tournaments to World Cups, Jorge was the constant presence, even when he wasn’t physically there. That support, and that voice, are what Messi now has to live without.

Football world stands with Messi

The reaction across the game was immediate and heartfelt. Rivals, teammates and former opponents all crowded beneath Messi’s post to offer support.

Cristiano Ronaldo, his long-time adversary in one of football’s great individual duels, wrote: “A huge hug to you and yours in these tough times, Leo. Much strength.”

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham added his own message: “We stand with you and your family, Leo – always.”

The outpouring reflects more than just respect for a superstar. It speaks to a shared understanding: even the greatest of all time is, at his core, a son grieving his father.

A promise beyond the pitch

Messi closed his message not with talk of trophies or records, but with a vow about the kind of father he wants to be.

“I'm going to miss you a lot, but you'll always be present, and especially in the upbringing of my children, because I teach them and raise them the way you both did with me,” he wrote. “Rest in peace and look after us from above the way you did down here. Thank you for everything.”

The football world will now wait to see whether this loss marks the beginning of the end of Messi’s playing days, or a pause before one last chapter. For the first time, even he admits he does not know the answer.