Lionel Messi has made his first public comments since the passing of his father Jorge with an emotional tribute on social media.
The Barcelona legend posted a two-page letter on Instagram with a beautiful and honest message and dedicated his run to the World Cup Final to his father, who could not be present as his health had deteriorated just days before the tournament began.
Here is Messi’s letter — posted in Spanish — translated in full:
Dad, I really can’t believe that you are gone. It hasn’t sunk
in, and I don’t want it to sink in. It’s very difficult for me to imagine I won’t see you anymore, that we won’t speak anymore. I know you were suffering and this is for the best, but you are gone too soon. There was still so much for us to enjoy together.
You asked me to play my last World Cup so much and you got worse just days before it began. It was the first time you wouldn’t be at a tournament, but Mom told me you would get better and be well enough to travel. I told you we would get to the Final so you could travel.
At the end of every match I waited and missed your message. That’s when I realized the situation was reall bad. Despite it all, I just thought about going as far as possible to give you time to see a match. We made it to the Final but you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it to lift it and show you a new one. I couldn’t, my legs couldn’t give any more. I tried to fight my body this time, but I couldn’t. I never felt good.
When I arrived you thought we had lost the Final on penalties. We couldn’t talk about anything that happened. You couldn’t enjoy any of it. We weren’t champions, but you don’t know how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play.
I tell you this because it’s the only thing we couldn’t talk about, because you know all the rest. We talked every day and we saw each other when I could because of my commitments.
I don’t know what to do without you, I don’t know how to move on. I only played football and now I have serious doubts if I’m going to do it for much longer. You’ve been by my side since the beginning, the end was so close. Why couldn’t you hang on so we could end it together?
I know your happiness was seeing your family well, your wife, your children, and above all, watching me play.
It’s been this way since I was a child. You took me to every training session after you got home from work. Mother took me to many others because you were working.
Obviously, you never missed any match. You suffered and enjoyed watching me at the same time, even though you never game too much praise.
You were a father, a friend and an agent. You were always the right person you needed to be in each moment and you never made a mistake. Despite a few fights between us, you were always right. In the end, we always did as you said.
I will miss you so much, but you will always be present above all else in the education of my children, because I’ll always teach them as you taught me.
Rest in peace and take care of us from above as you did here. Thank you for everything.
I love you, Dad.
That is so beautiful and so touching.
Rest in peace, Jorge.
