Lionel Messi used social media this Wednesday to speak out for the first time after the death of his father, Jorge Messi, at the age of 68, victim of a prolonged illness. The Argentine player published a letter in which he spoke about the suffering of the loss and recalled his last moments with his father.
Messi breaks silence after his father's death: "I wanted to give you the World Cup"
Lionel Messi used social media this Wednesday to speak out for the first time after the death of his father, Jorge Messi, at the age of 68, victim of a prolonged illness. The Argentine player published a letter in which he spoke about the...
I can't come to my senses, or rather, I don't want to. It's very difficult for me to imagine that I won't see you anymore, that we won't be able to talk anymore.
- I know you were suffering and that it was for the best, but you left too soon.
- We still had a lot left to enjoy together", he wrote.
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"Dad, I still can't believe you're gone. I can't come to my senses, or rather, I don't want to. It's very difficult for me to imagine that I won't see you anymore, that we won't be able to talk anymore. I know you were suffering and that it was for the best, but you left too soon. We still had a lot left to enjoy together", he wrote.
In the message, Messi said that Jorge wanted to see him compete in his last World Cup, but his health worsened a few days before the start of the competition.
"You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup, and, days before it started, that's when you got worse," said the Argentine.
The player revealed that, during the tournament, he hoped to get as far as possible to give his father time to recover and watch a match.
"Every time I finished a game, I waited and missed your message. Then, I realized that the situation was truly ugly. Still, I kept thinking about getting as far away as possible, to give you time to come and watch a game", he reported.
Messi said he reached the final, but Jorge was unable to travel to watch the match. According to the player, when he returned home, his father was already weakened and believed that the team had lost the decision on penalties.
"We reached the final and you couldn't be there. I wanted to win it to take you there and show you one more time. I couldn't, the penalties weren't enough. This time, I tried to go against my physique, but I couldn't. I never managed to feel good", he wrote.
The Argentine also stated that he was unable to talk to his father about everything that had happened during the competition.
"When I arrived, you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn't talk about anything that happened. You couldn't enjoy anything," he said.
In the final part of the tribute, Messi recalled the close relationship he had with Jorge and stated that the two spoke daily.
"We weren't champions, but you don't know how much we enjoyed each game. Once again, you were right. I had to be there and play. I tell you this because it was the only thing we couldn't talk about, because you already know everything else. We spoke every day, and we saw each other as much as possible, due to my commitments", he concluded.
Fight! Images of Lionel Messi's arrival for his father's funeral
Lionel Messi is already in Argentina after his father's death, arriving with his wife and children at the Falkland Islands International Airport, to pay tribute to Jorge Messi, in the city of Rosario, and to be present at the funeral ceremonies.