Lionel Messi shares heartbreaking statement after father’s death

Lionel Messi carried Argentina on his back throughout the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup. Even at 39, he was chronically inevitable — scoring eight goals and notching four assists to finish second to France’s Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race.

Messi did not receive the fairytale ending to his all-time record sixth World Cup, however. Spain put the clamps on Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final, winning 1-0 in extra time. Argentina failed to become the first repeat men’s World Cup champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Messi couldn’t hide his sorrow.

Everyone assumed Messi’s emotion sprouted from his internal battle with the finality of his footballing life. The following day, he did admit on Instagram, “The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal.” But Messi was wrestling with a finality much greater than anything contained on a pitch, and his tears ran so much deeper than the silver medal dangling from his neck.

Messi’s father, Jorge, died last Saturday, Aug. 8. He was 68.

Messi breaks his silence

Early Wednesday, Messi posted a photo of him and his father smiling together alongside the caption, “Te amo, pa [red heart emoji].” The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, who sent “a huge hug,” and Carlos Alcaraz flooded the comments section. As of this writing, the post has been liked over 13 million times in three hours.

 

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Within the Instagram carousel, Messi posted a lengthy, heartbreaking open letter to Jorge, as translated to English by ESPN FC and excerpted below.

“Dad, I still can’t believe you’re gone. It hasn’t sunk in — or rather, I don’t want it to. It’s so hard for me to imagine that I’m never going to see you again, that we’re never going to talk again. I know you were suffering and that this is for the best, but you left too soon. We still had so much left to enjoy together.

You asked me so many times to play in one last World Cup, and just days before it started was when you took a turn for the worse. It was the first time you weren’t going to be at a tournament, but Mom kept telling me that you were going to get better and that you’d be well enough to travel. I kept telling you that we were going to make it to the final so you could travel.

Every time a match ended, 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 so you could watch a match. We made it to the final, and you couldn’t be there.

I wanted to win so I could bring it to you and show you another one. I couldn’t. My legs had nothing left. This time, I tried to push beyond what my body could handle, but I couldn’t. I never managed to feel right.

When I got back, you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We never got the chance to talk about everything that 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 it.

I’m telling you this because it was the only thing we never got the chance the talk about, because you already knew everything else. We talked every day, and we saw each other whenever my commitments allowed.

I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to keep going. All I ever did was play soccer, and now, I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.

You were by my side from the very beginning. We were so close to the end. Why couldn’t you hold on just a little longer so we could finish it together?

I know your happiness was seeing your family doing well — your wife, your children — and above all, without the others finding out, watching me play.

It was always that way, ever since I was little. You took me to every training session as soon as you got home from work. Mom took me to many of them because you were working.

Of course, you never missed a single match. How you suffered watching me, and how much you enjoyed it, even though you never gave me too much praise.

You were my dad, my friend, and my agent. You were always exactly the person you needed to be in every moment, and you were never wrong about anything.

Beyond the occasional disagreement or argument, you were always right. In the end, things always turned out the way you said they would.

I’m going miss you so much, but you’ll always be present — especially in the way I raise my children, because I teach them and raise them the way you and Mom raised me.

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

I love you, Dad.”

What happened to Jorge Messi?

Reports began swirling about the elder Messi’s health at the start of the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup in June. The Messi family released an official statement condemning “irresponsible” media speculation. The family did not share any details on the specifics of Jorge Messi’s medical condition, only confirming that he was “under medical supervision.”

ESPN’s Sam Marsden reported that Jorge Messi died in a hospital in Rosario in central Argentina after having “undergone treatment in recent months for an unspecified illness.” No cause of death has been publicly disclosed.