Lionel Messi has hinted that retirement could soon be on the horizon in an emotional message following his father's death. His father, Jorge, passed away in Argentina following a battle with ill health.
Health battle and false reports
The Messi family were forced to release a statement during the recent World Cup, following speculation about Jorge's health, claiming he'd passed away during the tournament. The family made it clear he had not died, but was in the midst of a health battle.
Just a few weeks after the tournament, Jorge died aged 68 and tributes have flooded in from around the world of football, with Messi breaking his silence following the sad news, opening up on the strong relationship he had with his father.
Messi's emotional tribute
Admitting he is unsure how much longer he will continue playing football, Messi wrote on Instagram: "I don't know what I'm going to do without you, I don't know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts that I'll be able to keep doing it for much longer. You were by my side from the beginning; the end was so close. Why couldn't you hold on that little bit longer and we could have finished together?"
He continued: "I know your happiness came from seeing your family well, your wife, your children, and, above all, without the others finding out, seeing me play... It was always like that from the time I was little. You took me to every training session as soon as you got home from work. My mom took me to many of them because you were working.
"Obviously, you never missed a match. How you suffered watching me and how you enjoyed it, even though you never gave me much praise. You were a father, a friend, and an agent. You were always the person you needed to be in every moment, and you were never wrong about anything. Beyond some reproaches or arguments, you were always right. In the end, things always turned out the way you said.
"I'm going to miss you so much, but you'll always be present, especially in my children's upbringing, because I teach and raise them the way you did me. Rest in peace and watch over us from above like you did here. Thank you for everything. I love you, Dad."
Speculation about the future
There has been plenty of speculation about Messi's future in the game, with one of the world's greatest ever players now aged 39. He added: "Dad, I still can't believe you're gone. It hasn't sunk in, or rather, I don't want to. 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 it's for the best, but you left too soon. We still had so much to enjoy together.
"You kept asking me to play in the last World Cup, and days before it started, you were at your worst. It was the first time you weren't going to be in a tournament, but Mom told me you were going to get better and that you'd be well enough to travel. I told you we were going to make it to the final so you could go.
"Every time a match ended, I waited for and missed your message. That's when I realized the situation was truly bad. Even so, I kept thinking about going as far as possible, to give you time to see a match.
"We reached the final, and you couldn't be there. I wanted to win it so I could bring it to you and show you a new one. I couldn't; my legs just wouldn't take it anymore. This time, I tried to push myself against my body, but I couldn't. I could never feel good.
"When I arrived, you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn't talk about anything that had happened. You couldn't enjoy anything. We weren't champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every match. Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play.
"I'm telling you this because it was the only thing we couldn't talk about, because you already know everything else. We talked every day and saw each other whenever my commitments allowed."
