By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Football superstar, Lionel Messi has opened up about the devastating loss of his father, Jorge Messi, revealing that his decision to play in the 2026 World Cup was driven in large part by his father’s repeated wish to see him compete in one final tournament.

Jorge Messi died last week in Rosario, Argentina, at the age of 68 after a long illness. His death has left the Argentina captain mourning not only his father, but also the person who had been a constant presence throughout his football journey.

In an emotional tribute on Wednesday, Messi recalled how his father had repeatedly encouraged him to play in the World Cup.

“Dad, you kept asking me to play in one last World Cup,” Messi wrote, explaining that his father’s condition worsened just days before the tournament began.

For the first time, Jorge was not going to be there with his son at a major tournament. Messi said his mother continued to reassure him that his father would recover and would eventually be well enough to travel.

Messi said he kept telling his father that Argentina would reach the World Cup final so that Jorge could make the journey and watch him play.

After every match, however, Messi waited for the message from his father, a message that did not come.

It was then, he said, that he began to understand just how serious his father’s condition had become.

Still, he continued pushing forward.

Messi said he could not stop thinking about taking Argentina as far as possible, hoping that reaching the final would give his father more time and perhaps the opportunity to watch one of his matches.

Argentina eventually made it to the final, but Jorge never made the trip.

Messi wanted to win the trophy for his father and take it home to him, giving him another World Cup triumph to celebrate. But the physical demands of the tournament eventually caught up with him.

“My legs just couldn’t give me any more,” he said.

The World Cup ended without the trophy Messi had hoped to place in his father’s hands, but the experience remains deeply meaningful to him.

“We didn’t become champions Dad, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every match,” he wrote.

Messi also revealed that the loss has left him questioning what comes next in his football career. The 39-year-old said he does not know how to move forward without his father and admitted that he now has serious doubts about continuing to play for much longer.

Jorge was far more than Messi’s father. He was his representative, adviser and one of the most important figures in the journey that took the boy from Rosario to the summit of world football.

Yet Messi’s final message to him was not about trophies or records. It was about fulfilling a father’s wish.

“Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play in it as you told me, always.”