Following his father Jorge Messi’s death in early August, Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi posted an emotional tribute, opening up about their profound bond.
In an open letter to his father shared on Instagram Aug. 12, Lionel Messi wrote that it’s been difficult for him to process the death. The grieving son also expressed that without Jorge Messi, he isn’t sure “how to go on.”
Jorge Messi, who was the soccer icon’s longtime representative and agent, died at medical facility Sanatorio Centro in Argentina on Aug. 8, the hospital confirmed in a statement. He was 68 years old.
“I just played soccer, and now I have a lot of doubts about whether I’m going to keep doing it for much longer,” Lionel Messi, 39, wrote, according to an NBC News translation of the post. “You were by my side from the beginning, we were so close to the end.”
Lionel Messi, who is believed to have just played in his final World Cup game in July given his age and lengthy career, then asked his father in the open letter: “Why didn’t you hang on just a little longer and we would have ended this together?”
In early August, Lionel Messi attended a private ceremony in Argentina for his father.
Jorge Messi was an integral part of his son’s career, negotiating some of Lionel Messi’s most high-profile contracts including that with FC Barcelona, in addition to transfers to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami FC. He was frequently seen, attending his son’s games. But when Jorge Messi was noticeably absent from Argentina’s World Cup matches this summer, questions emerged about the elder Messi’s health.
During one particular World Cup game in June in which Argentina won 3-1 against Algeria, Lionel Messi became emotional when scoring his first goal of three. In interviews after the game, the soccer star alluded to some personal struggles he was dealing with off the field.
“It was something completely unrelated to football,” he told reporters of why he broke down. “I went through some difficult days.”
In his tribute post, Lionel Messi said that he “can’t believe that you’re gone.”
“I can’t grasp it, or rather, I don’t want to grasp it. It’s hard for me to imagine that I won’t see you anymore, that we won’t talk anymore,” Lionel Messi wrote. “I know you were suffering and that it’s for the best, but you left too soon. We still had so much to enjoy together.”
Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina’s national team, continued, describing the interaction the two had just ahead of the tournament. At the time, Lionel Messi wrote, Jorge Messi was not feeling well.
“You kept asking me to play in the last World Cup, and a few days before it started was when you felt the worst,” Lionel Messi wrote in the post. “It was going to be the first time you wouldn’t be at a tournament, but Mom told me that you were going to be better and that you’d be okay to travel.”
Lionel Messi revealed in the Instagram post that he had promised his father that the team would reach the finals in hopes that Jorge Messi would be well enough to travel by then. The team did in fact make it to the end of the tournament, but lost to Spain 0-1.
“Every time a game ended, I waited for and I missed your message. That’s when I realized that the situation was really bad,” Lionel Messi said. “Even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about going as far as possible, to give you time to see a game.”
