Messi questions future of football after emotional tribute to late father

Lionel Messi has questioned whether he will continue playing football following the death of his father, Jorge, last week.

The Argentina captain said he was unsure how to move forward after Jorge died aged 68 at a medical clinic in Rosario, Argentina, following a long illness.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to move forward. I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I’m going to keep doing it for much longer,” Messi wrote in an emotional tribute on Instagram.

“You were by my side from the beginning; there was so little left until the end. Why couldn’t you hold on just a little longer so we could finish it together?”

Jorge was a constant presence throughout Messi’s career, supporting his son from his early years at Barcelona. He became an important figure in Messi’s development and also worked as his representative for several years.

Messi, 39, said his father’s wishes were one of the reasons he decided to play at the World Cup, where Argentina finished runners-up to Spain after losing the final in extra time.

“You always asked me to play in the last World Cup and a few days before it started was when you got worse,” Messi said.

“It was the first time you weren’t going to be at a tournament… Every time a match ended, I would wait and hope for your message. That’s when I realised how real the situation was.”

The tournament brought a mixture of sporting success and personal pain for Messi. He scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening match against Algeria, but broke down in tears as he celebrated his first goal.

Messi later said the reaction had been caused by “something unrelated to football” and followed “a few difficult, complicated days.”

He also revealed that he had wanted to win the final for his father, but was unable to summon enough energy to lead Argentina to a second World Cup title.

“My legs couldn’t go on anymore. This time I tried to push myself beyond my physical limits, but I couldn’t. I never felt well… We weren’t champions, but you don’t know how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play it,” Messi added.

Jorge had encouraged his son to take part in the tournament despite his worsening condition. Messi said that, after every match, he hoped to receive a message from his father, only gradually accepting the seriousness of what was happening.

The Inter Miami forward said he would continue to honour Jorge by passing on the values he had received as a child to his own family.

“I’m going to miss you so much, but you will always be present, especially in the upbringing of my children, because I will teach them and raise them the way you raised me,” he said.