1 of 6 | A person carries a bouquet of flowers in front of the El Prado Cemetery in Rosario, Argentina, on Saturday. Soccer great Lionel Messi returned to attend the wake and funeral for his father, Jorge Messi, who died at age 68 after a long illness, according to the family. Photo by EPA
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Lionel Messi wrote a letter to his late father, Jorge, on Wednesday, detailing his struggles during the 2026 World Cup and expressing uncertainty about his soccer future.
Jorge Messi died Saturday at a hospital in Rosario, Argentina. The 68-year-old, who served as his son's agent and business manager, died after what was described as a long illness. A funeral was held Sunday in Perez, a town near Rosario.
"Dad, I still can't believe you're gone," Messi wrote on Instagram. "It hasn't sunk in -- or rather, I don't want it to. It's so hard to imagine that I won't see you anymore, that we won't talk again. I know you were suffering and that this is for the best, but you left too soon. We still had so much left to enjoy together.
"You kept asking me to play in the last World Cup, yet just days before it started, your condition took a turn for the worse. It was the first time you wouldn't be at a tournament, but mom kept telling me you'd improve and be well enough to travel. I told you we'd make it to the final so you could make the trip."
