As he took Argentina to what surely seemed like his last-ever World Cup Final, Lionel Messi's heart was heavy. But it wasn't just from the emotion of his possible final appearance for his home country.
On Wednesday, Messi revealed that his father, Jorge Messi, had recently died in an Instagram post. He shared a heartbreaking tribute to the man he said was with him at every step of his legendary soccer career. Messi revealed that this past World Cup was when he slowly realized he didn't have that much time left with his father, who had grown very sick before the tournament began and couldn't go to all of Messi's matches as he often did.
That grim reality was what apparently motivated Messi to push even harder for Argentina, just so his dad could
have more opportunities to watch his son:
"You [Jorge Messi] kept asking me to play in one last World Cup, and just days before it began [the 2026 World Cup] was when your condition got worse. It was the first time you weren’t going to be there with me at a tournament, but Mom kept telling me you were going to get better and that you’d be well enough to travel. I kept telling you we were going to reach the final so you could make the trip.
After every match, I waited for and missed your message. That’s when I realized how serious the situation really was. Even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about going as far as possible, to give you more time and the chance to watch one of the games."
In the end, the 39-year-old Messi was regretful that he couldn't win one more World Cup for Argentina and for his father because his legs had nothing left. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup Final, and Messi was ineffective. But Messi said something important about his attempt to have a presumably standard recap chat with his father after the tournament concluded. When that conversation couldn't happen as normal because of his father's health, Messi said he remembered that his father had previously told him he had to be out there one last time with Argentina, for one last journey with his teammates. The joy Messi felt with his teammates en route to a magical run to the final was something his dad was ultimately right about him needing to experience.
Messi's dad gave him one last piece of sagely advice:
"We reached the final, but you [Jorge Messi] couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it so I could bring the trophy to you and show you another one. I couldn’t. My legs just couldn’t give me any more. This time I tried to push beyond what my body could handle, but I couldn’t. I never managed to feel physically right.
When I got back, you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn’t talk about anything that had happened. You weren’t able to enjoy any of it. We didn’t become champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play in it. I’m telling you all this because it was the only thing we never got the chance to talk about. You already know everything else. We spoke every day and saw each other whenever my commitments allowed us to."
What a powerful and heartbreaking tribute to the man who laid the foundation for one of the greatest athletes of all time. Let us all be so blessed to feel this sort of love for a parental figure who gives and gave us everything.
Has Lionel Messi revealed any plans to retire from soccer?
Messi has not touched on his future as a professional soccer player at the time of this writing. However, his Argentina teammate Leandro Paredes did note that he thought the 2026 World Cup Final was Messi's last appearance for his country.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Lionel Messi was regretful he couldn't win another World Cup for his dad after he died
