Messi questions future in Instagram tribute after father Jorge's death

Lionel Messi, in an emotional post on his official Instagram following the death of his father Jorge on August 7, said he does not know how to carry on without him and admitted doubts about continuing his football career.

Jorge Messi died after a long battle with illness, and Lionel wrote that his father had been his manager, agent and closest adviser from the start of his career in Rosario, remaining by his side throughout his rise. The Argentina forward went quiet in the days after his father's passing and returned to his hometown of Rosario to attend the funeral.

In the lengthy Instagram statement Messi said his father urged him to play in the World Cup this year and that he had wanted to win it for him, but that he could not physically push through. "I wanted to win it so I could take it to you and show you a new one. I couldn't. My legs just couldn't go any further. This time, I tried to push through it physically, but I couldn't. I never felt well," he wrote.

Messi described how he waited for his father's messages after matches and how those missed messages revealed just how serious Jorge's condition had become. "Every time I finished a match, I would wait for and miss your message. That's when I realised just how bad the situation really was. Even so, I never stopped thinking about going as far as possible, so I could give you time and so that you could watch me play a match." He added that they reached the final but his father could not be there.

Recalling his childhood, Messi said his father took him to training sessions whenever he could and that his mother often took him when Jorge was working. "You would take me to every training session as soon as you got home from work. My mum took me to many of them because you were working." He also wrote, "Obviously, you never missed a single match. You suffered watching me and you enjoyed it too, even though you never gave me many compliments."

Messi paid tribute to Jorge's role beyond football, calling him his father, friend and representative and saying he was usually right. "You were my dad, my friend and my representative. You were always the person you needed to be in every situation, and you were never wrong about anything. Beyond some arguments or disagreements, you were always right. In the end, things always turned out the way you said they would," the post read.

He closed the statement by expressing how lost he feels without his father and by describing how he will carry his father's influence into raising his own children. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I don't know how to carry on. I only played football, and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I'm going to keep doing it for much longer." "I'm going to miss you so much, but you will always be present, especially in how I raise my children, because I teach and raise them the way you and Mum raised me." "Rest in peace, Dad, and watch over us from above like you did here. Thank you for everything."

Messi has taken an indefinite break from football and has been excused by his club Inter Miami. "I love you, Dad," read the statement from Messi.