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Argentina's forward Lionel Messi during the 2026 World Cup football final match between Spain and Argentina. [Patricia De Melo, AFP]
Argentina superstar and inspiration behind his country's 2022 World Cup victory, Lionel Messi said Wednesday he has "serious doubts" about continuing to play football for "much longer" after the death of his father, Jorge Messi.
"I don't know what I'll do without you, I don't know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer," Messi, 39, wrote in a message on social media after his father, who was also his agent, died last week aged 68.
In the message, Messi, whose contract with Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami runs till the end of the 2028 season, reflected on the final months of his father's life, which coincided with the 2026 World Cup.
