Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi said Wednesday that he has “a lot of doubts” about whether he will continue playing football “for much longer,” in an emotional farewell letter to his father and agent, Jorge Messi, who died Friday at the age of 68. In his first public reaction since his father’s death, the 39-year-old star reflected on the final months of his father’s life, which were marked by the worsening cancer that ultimately killed him, according to media reports.
Jorge Messi’s declining health, after playing a central role throughout his son’s brilliant career, coincided with the 2026 World Cup in North America. Argentina lost the final 1-0 to Spain on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, I don’t know how to go on. All I ever did was play football, and now I have a lot of doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer,” Messi wrote in a letter posted on Instagram alongside photographs of himself with his father.
“You kept asking me to play in one last World Cup, and just days before it started was when you got much worse. It was the first time you weren’t going to be at a tournament,” the Argentina captain added. “I kept telling you we were going to reach the final so you could travel.”
I Never Managed to Feel Right
The former FC Barcelona forward, whose contract with Inter Miami runs through 2028, said he wanted to win the World Cup so he could take the trophy to his father. But he acknowledged that he was unable to do so because his body failed him in the title match against a Spain side that overwhelmed Argentina.
“A huge hug to you and your family during these difficult moments, Leo. Stay strong,” Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s longtime rival in the debate over the world’s best player, replied to Wednesday’s post. Jorge Messi’s poor health, which became public during the World Cup, ended with his burial Sunday near Rosario.
In Argentina’s opening match against Algeria, Messi cried after scoring one of his three goals in a 3-0 victory. Afterward, he acknowledged that the unusual display of emotion was connected to his father’s condition. “Every time a match ended, I waited for and missed your message. That was when I realized the situation was really serious. Even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about going as far as possible, to give you time and so you could see one of the matches,” Messi wrote.
“We reached the final and you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it so I could take it to you and show you another one. I couldn’t. My legs had nothing left. This time I tried to fight against my body, but I couldn’t. I never managed to feel right,” he added. After losing the final in his sixth and final World Cup, Messi returned to Argentina to visit his father. He realized that Jorge had been unable to follow much of the tournament. “When I arrived, you thought we had lost the final on penalties.
We couldn’t talk about anything that had happened. You weren’t able to enjoy any of it,” Messi wrote. “We weren’t champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play in it,” he added.
Father, Friend and Agent
Messi, who has yet to define his international future, produced an exceptional World Cup at the end of a career that many believe has established him as the greatest footballer in history. With eight goals and performances reminiscent of his peak years, he was the driving force behind Argentina reaching a second consecutive World Cup final.
Jorge Messi is widely regarded as a fundamental figure in the career of the most decorated footballer in history. Demanding and critical of his son, but also his most constant source of support, he accompanied Lionel from the modest football fields of Rosario to the highest levels of the sport.
“You were always like that from the time I was little. You took me to every training session as soon as you got home from work,” Messi recalled. “You never missed a match. How much you suffered watching me and how much you enjoyed it, even though you never gave me many compliments.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner emphasized his father’s importance both on and off the field. “You were a father, a friend and an agent. You were always the person you needed to be at every moment, and you never got anything wrong,” he wrote. “Rest in peace and look after us from above the way you did here. Thank you for everything.”
Messi left Argentina for the United States on Tuesday night, according to local media. Neither he nor Inter Miami has said when he will return to competition.
