Jorge's passing: Lionel Messi breaks the silence with a powerful message

This Wednesday, Lionel Messi penned a heartfelt letter to his father Jorge, who passed away at 68 after a long illness.

In his letter, Lionel Messi reflects on the final months of their relationship and the immense difficulty he faces in coming to terms with his father's passing. The FC Barcelona legend also touched on the 2026 World Cup, which his father had urged him to play in even as his health rapidly declined just before the tournament.

Messi had hoped to see his father recover enough to attend a match, making a promise to go as far as possible in the competition to buy him time.

Read also: Cristiano Ronaldo offers his condolences to Leo Messi following his father's death!

Messi's letter in full:

"I love you, Dad."

Dad, I still can't believe you're gone. I can't accept it, or rather, I don't want to accept it. It's so hard for me to imagine that I won't see you anymore, that we won't talk anymore. I know you were suffering and that maybe it's better this way, but you left far too soon. There was still so much we had left to experience together.

You insisted so much that I play in the last World Cup, and just days before it started, that's when you got sick. It was the first time you weren't going to be present at a tournament, but mom kept telling me you'd get better and be fit enough to travel. I kept telling you we'd reach the final so you could come.

Every time a match ended, I waited for your message and missed it. That's when I realized how serious things really were. Still, I kept thinking about going as far as possible, to give you time and so you could attend a match. We made it to the final and you couldn't be there. I wanted to win it for you, to bring it home and show you again. I just couldn't go on, my legs wouldn't respond. This time, I tried to push my body, but I couldn't do it. I never managed to feel right.

When I came back, you thought we'd lost the final on penalties. We weren't able to talk about everything that happened. You couldn't enjoy any of it. We weren't champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were right: you just have to be there and play.

I'm telling you this because it's the only thing we never got to talk about—everything else, you already know. We talked every day and saw each other whenever my schedule allowed.

I don't know what I'll do without you, I don't know how to go on. All I ever did was play football, and now I have so many doubts about continuing for much longer. You've been by my side since the very beginning, and we were so close to the end. Why couldn't you hold on just a little longer so we could finish together?

I know your happiness came from seeing your family doing well—your wife, your children, and especially these last years, from watching me play.

Ever since I was little, that's how it always was. You'd take me to every training session as soon as you got home from work. For many of them, it was mom who took me because you were working.

Of course, you never missed a match. You suffered so much watching me, and you also enjoyed it, even if you never gave me many compliments.

You were a father, a friend, and my agent. You were always exactly the person you needed to be at every moment, and you were never wrong about anything. Even when there were arguments or disagreements, you were always right. In the end, things always turned out the way you said they would.

I'm going to miss you so much, but you'll always be present, especially in how I raise my children, because I teach and guide them the way you and mom did with me.

Rest in peace and watch over us from above as you did here. Thank you for everything."

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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