Lionel Messi hints at retirement after father’s death, writes open letter, ‘Now, I have serious doubts…’

Lionel Messi has written an emotional open letter to his late father. Jorge Messi passed away on 8 August. On 12 August, the GOAT shared this deeply-personal tribute.

Messi started by expressing disbelief over his father's death. According to him, imagining life without him feels impossible. He acknowledged his father's suffering but called his death premature.

“I know you were suffering and that this is for the best, but you left us too soon. We still had so much left to enjoy together,” he wrote.

Messi recalled how his father wanted him to continue playing. Just days before the FIFA World Cup 2026, his health worsened. This marked the first tournament his father couldn't attend.

“Mum 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 would make it to the final so you could travel,” Messi wrote.

He recalled missing his father's messages after every match played. This made him realise the severity of the situation. Still, he pushed himself further, hoping to buy more time.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about going as far as possible so that I could buy you time and you could watch a match. We reached the final, and you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it for you, to bring it home and show you something new. I couldn’t,” the Argentine legend wrote.

“My legs had nothing left. This time, I tried to push beyond what my body could give me, but I couldn’t,” he added.

When he finally arrived home, his father believed they'd lost on penalties. They couldn't properly discuss together what had actually happened.

“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 it,” Lionel Messi wrote in the open letter shared on Instagram.

Messi reflected on their close relationship built over many years. They spoke daily and met whenever their commitments allowed.

He recalled how his father drove him to training. This happened straight after finishing work each day. His mother sometimes took him when his father worked late.

His father never missed a single match, Messi noted. He suffered and celebrated quietly, rarely offering direct praise, though.

Messi promised to raise his own children the way he had been brought up. This would honour the values his parents instilled in him.

“I’m going to miss you so much, but you will always be present, especially in the way I raise my children, because I will teach and raise them the way you and Mum raised me,” Messi wrote.

Messi hints at retirement

What Leo wrote next would surely concern his fans. Messi hinted at hanging up his boots as he seemed unsure whether to continue.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to go on. I only played football. And, now, I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer,” Messi wrote.

“You were by my side from the very beginning, and there was so little left until the end. Why couldn’t you hold on just a little longer so we could finish it together?” wondered the Number 10.