Lionel Messi puts playing career in doubt with heartbreaking letter to late father

Matthew NeschisWed, August 12, 2026 at 2:45 PM UTC

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Lionel Messi suggested that he could take an extended break from playing following his father's death -Credit:Getty Images

Lionel Messi suggested that he could step away from soccer just days after tragically losing his father, Jorge.

Last week, Jorge passed away at the age of 68 following a lengthy battle with an undisclosed “health situation.” Taking to social media on Wednesday, Messi penned a heartfelt letter in Spanish to his late father and representative, in which the Inter Miami superstar admitted that he was unsure about “how to keep going” in his career.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to keep going,” Messi wrote. “I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts that I will continue to do so for a long time to come.

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“You were by my side from the beginning, we were so close to the end. Why didn’t you hold on for that little longer and we could finish together?”

Jorge was right by Messi’s side for nearly the entirety of the Argentine’s career, additionally playing a pivotal role in his young son’s rise through the FC Barcelona ranks. “Pa, I still can’t believe you’re gone,” Messi began the post.

“I don’t fall, or rather, I don’t want to fall. It’s very difficult for me to imagine that I’m not going to see you anymore, that we’re not going to talk anymore.

“I know you were hurting and it’s for the best, but you left too soon. We still had a lot to enjoy together.”

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Lionel Messi penned a touching tribute to Jorge on social media -Credit:Getty Images

Messi revealed that he was repeatedly encouraged by Jorge to compete in the 2026 World Cup, even as his father’s health was rapidly declining in the lead-up to the quadrennial tournament.

“You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup and days before the start was when you reached your worst,” he added.

“It was the first time you weren’t 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.”

Messi held out hope that Jorge would recover enough to attend the World Cup final, but discovered the severity of his dad’s illness when he stopped replying to his texts.

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“Every time a game ended, I expected and missed your message. That's when I realized that the situation was real,” Messi said.

“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 couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it to take the trophy and show you a new one. I couldn’t, my legs couldn’t take it anymore. This time I tried to go against my physique, but I couldn’t. I could never feel good.”

Upon returning home following Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Spain in the World Cup final, Messi couldn’t talk with Jorge about everything that transpired stateside. "When I arrived you thought we had lost the final on penalties,” he recalled.

“We couldn’t talk about anything that happened. You couldn’t enjoy anything. We weren’t champions, but you don’t know how much we enjoyed every game. Again, you were right: I had to be there and play it.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”