Lionel Messi casts doubts on football future following father’s death
The captain of the Argentine national football team posted an open letter to his late father Jorge on his Instagram account: ‘I just played football and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.’ La entrada Lionel Messi casts doubts on football future following father’s death se publicó primero en Buenos Aires Herald .
Argentine football legend Lionel Messi has expressed uncertainty about his future in the sport following his father's death, according to an open letter he wrote to the late Jorge Messi. In the heartfelt message, Messi said, "I don’t know how I’m going to manage without you, I don’t know how to go on." He added, "I just played soccer, and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer."
The letter reveals that Messi's father was the one who encouraged him to participate in the 2026 World Cup, and Messi had promised Jorge he would make the final so his father could attend the game. Jorge Messi's health issues had been a topic of discussion during the tournament, with the Argentina captain being seen crying after scoring Argentina's opening goal against Algeria.
Subsequent rumors about his father's health surfaced after Messi's father was confirmed to have health issues. Messi also referenced Argentina's final match against Spain, where they lost 0-1, stating, "We got to the final, but even then you couldn’t make it." He added, "I wanted to win it for you and show you a new title. I couldn’t do it; my legs had nothing left to give."
Messi concluded the letter by thanking his father, saying, "I’ll miss you dearly, but you’ll always be with me, especially in my children’s upbringing, because I teach things the way you did with me." Will Lionel Messi retire soon? The news of his father's death has cast significant doubts on Messi's future in the sport. Currently, Messi is under contract with Inter Miami until December 2028, though the contract includes opt-out clauses in 2026 and 2027.
There have been recent rumors linking him to a move back to Argentina to play for his childhood club Newell's Old Boys in Rosario, in an attempt to be closer to his family. After the news of Jorge Messi's passing became public, many speculated that Messi's situation was similar to that of Argentine star Carlos Tevez, who retired in 2022 after his father's passing.
In a 2022 interview, Tevez said, "I stopped playing because I lost my number one fan. When I was 8 years old, he was the one who came to watch me. I thought, 'What's the point?' So I got up and said, 'I'm not playing anymore.'"
Written by urgent.news from Buenos Aires Herald's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
