Messi\u2019s father, \u2060Jorge, died last week at age of 68
\nArgentinian suggests he may not play on much longer<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi said on Wednesday that he is having doubts about continuing his career following the death of his father last week. Messi\u2019s father, \u2060Jorge, died last week aged 68 at a medical clinic in the Argentinian city of Rosario after a long illness.<\/p>\n
In a tribute on Instagram, Messi wrote: \u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to \u2060do without you. I \u2060don\u2019t know how \u200bto move forward. I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I\u2019m going to keep doing it for much \u2060longer.
\n\u201cYou were by my side from the beginning; there was so little left until the end. Why couldn\u2019t you hold on just \u2060a little longer so we could finish it together?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jorge closely accompanied his son throughout his career, beginning \u200bwith his early years at Barcelona. He acted \u200cas a crucial pillar of \u200csupport and, for several years, served as his representative.<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old Argentina captain revealed one of the reasons he \u200cplayed in the World Cup, where they finished runners-up to Spain after an extra-time defeat in the final, was because it was his father\u2019s wish<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always asked me to play in the last World Cup and a few days before it started was when you got worse,\u201d Messi said. \u201cIt was the first time you weren\u2019t going to be at a tournament \u2026 Every time a match ended, I would \u200cwait and hope for your message. That\u2019s when I realised how real the situation was.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the World Cup, Messi experienced mixed emotions after scoring a hat-trick in \u200bthe opening match against Algeria, breaking down in tears while celebrating his first goal. He later explained that his tears were due to \u201csomething unrelated to football\u201d after going through \u201ca few difficult, complicated days\u201d.<\/p>\n
Messi said he wanted to win the final for his father but he had no energy left to bring home a second World Cup title. \u201cMy \u2060legs couldn\u2019t go on any more. This time I tried to push myself beyond my \u200bphysical limits, but I couldn\u2019t. \u200bI never felt well \u2026 We weren\u2019t champions, \u200bbut you don\u2019t know how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were \u200bright: I had to \u200cbe there and play \u200bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his \u200bgrief, the Inter Miami forward pledged to honour his father\u2019s memory through parenting his own children. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss you so much, but you will always be present, especially in the upbringing of my children, because I will teach them and raise them the way you raised me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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