Lionel Messi has broken his silence following the death of his father, Jorge Messi, revealing that he is unsure whether he will continue his football career for much longer without him. 

The Argentina captain shared an emotional tribute on his Instagram page on Wednesday, accompanied by a photograph of the two of them together, expressing that he still cannot come to terms with the loss and that he does not want it to fully sink in.

In the tribute, Messi described how difficult it is to imagine a life in which he can no longer see or speak with his father, acknowledging that although his father had been suffering and that his passing may have brought relief from that pain, he still felt his father had been taken too soon, with so much left for them to share together.

The Inter Miami forward recalled how much his father had wanted him to feature at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, noting that Jorge’s health took a turn for the worse shortly before the tournament got underway.

Messi closed the tribute by thanking his father for a lifetime of support throughout his career, asking him to rest in peace and to continue watching over the family from above just as he always had while alive.

Jorge Messi, who served as his son’s long-time representative and agent, died at the age of 68 following a prolonged illness. He played a defining role in his son’s career from its earliest days, including helping secure medical treatment for a growth hormone deficiency Messi suffered as a child and later facilitating the family’s move from Argentina to Barcelona when Messi was just 13 years old.

The elder Messi’s declining health had already been the subject of public attention after his son became visibly emotional following a goal in Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria, when he explained afterward that his tears had nothing to do with the match itself.

Photo Credit: Instagram