Lionel Messi has hinted that the end of his career may be near after admitting he had “quite a few doubts” about his football future following the death of his father. Jorge Messi died last week at the age of 68 in Rosario, Argentina, after a long illness, and his health during this summer’s World Cup appeared to take its toll on the 39-year-old Argentine captain. In a tribute on Instagram on Wednesday, Messi wrote: “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to move forward. I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I’m going to continue doing it for much longer. “You were by my side from the beginning; There was very little left until the end. Why couldn’t you hold on a little longer so we could finish it together?” Messi spent time with his father after the tournament, where Argentina were defeated in the final by Spain, before returning to his club, Inter Miami, making his return to Major League Soccer against Columbus earlier this month. Jorge had been a constant presence during his son’s career since his early days in Barcelona, with the World Cup being the first time he was absent from a major tournament. Messi revealed that his father, despite his deteriorating condition, had urged to play for the Albiceleste in their ultimately failed attempt to defend their title. “You always asked me to play in the last World Cup and a few days before it started was when you got worse,” he wrote. “It was the first time you weren’t going to be in a tournament… Every time a match ended, I waited and waited for your message. Then I realized how real the situation was.” After tearfully celebrating the first goal of his hat-trick against Algeria in the group stage, Messi explained that he was going through “a few difficult, complicated days” because of “something unrelated to football.” He said he ran out of energy in the final. “My legs couldn’t take it anymore,” he wrote. “This time I tried to push myself beyond my physical limits, but I couldn’t. I never felt good… We weren’t champions, but you don’t know how much we enjoyed every game. Once again, you were right: I had to “be there and play it.” Messi has made 207 caps for Argentina since making his debut for his country in August 2005. He captained the team to glory at the 2022 World Cup, equaling Diego Maradona’s achievement in 1986, although, like Maradona, he fell at the final hurdle in attempting to win back-to-back titles. Subscribe twice-weekly to Soccer Desk Jonathan Wilson and The Guardian’s journalists provide expert analysis and reporting on football’s biggest stories. However, after promotion in the newsletter, Messi broke the record for total goals in the World Cup, with his goal against Egypt in the round of 16, his 21st in the tournament and 125th overall for Argentina. His World Cup tally was later surpassed by Frenchman Kylian Mbappé in the third-place playoff. It will add to his notable resume of honors, which includes 10 League titles, four Champions Leagues and eight Ballon d’Ors in addition to that triumph at the World Cup in Qatar. But he promised to honor his father’s memory through his own children: “I will miss you very much, but you will always be present, especially in raising my children, because I will teach them and raise them as you raised me.”
