Lionel Messi has paid an emotional tribute to his late father, Jorge Messi, following his death at the age of 68. The Inter Miami and Argentina star took to Instagram to share a deeply personal message, looking back on his father’s support throughout his career, his final days, and the memories they shared together.
In the emotional post, Messi opened up about how difficult it is to accept his father’s absence and reflected on the special bond they had. He also recalled the 2022 World Cup, revealing that his father had repeatedly encouraged him to play in the tournament and that he hoped Argentina’s run would give Jorge the chance to watch him play again.
Messi’s emotional tribute to his father
"Dad, I still can’t believe that you’ve gone. I don’t fall, or rather, I don’t want to fall. It’s very hard for me to imagine that I’m not going to see you anymore, we’re not going to talk anymore. I know you were suffering and that it’s for the best, but you left too soon. We still had a lot left to enjoy together.
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. It was the first time you weren’t going to be at a tournament, but Mom 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.
Every time a match ended I waited for, missed your message.
That’s when I realized the situation was really bad. 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 I arrived you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn’t talk about any of everything 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.
I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, I don’t know how to go on. 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?
I’m going to miss you a lot, but you’ll always be present.
Rest in peace and look after us from above the way you did down here. Thank you for everything.
I love you, Dad. ❤️"
