Lionel Messi has admitted he has “serious doubts” about continuing his football career for much longer following the death of his father, Jorge Messi.
The Argentina captain opened up about his grief Wednesday in a lengthy social media tribute to his father, who died last week at 68 after a long illness.
“I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I don't know how to move forward,” Messi wrote. “I only played football, and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I'm going to keep doing it for much longer.”
The emotional message offered Messi's first detailed reflection on his father's death and revealed how closely Jorge's final months were intertwined with the most demanding period of his son's career.
Jorge was more than Messi's father. He was his agent, adviser and one of the central figures in his career from the beginning, including during Messi's rise through Barcelona's youth system.
