Messi's Emotional Letter to His Father: "Why Couldn't You Hold On a Little Longer So We Could Finish Together?"

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has publicly shared his emotions for the first time following the death of his father, Jorge Messi. The forward did so in a long and touching letter published on Instagram. Here's what it says:

"Dad, I still can't believe you're gone. I'm not breaking down, or rather, I don't want to break down. It's incredibly hard for me to imagine not seeing you again, not talking to you again. I know you were suffering and that it's better this way, but you left too soon. We had so much more to enjoy together. You begged me so much to play in the last World Cup, and it was precisely in the days leading up to it that you got worse. It was the first time you wouldn't be at a tournament, but Mom told me you'd be fine and well enough to travel. I told you we'd reach the final so you could come.

After every match, I waited and missed your message. That's when I realized the situation was truly bad. Nevertheless, I kept thinking about how to go as far as possible to buy you time so you could watch a match. We reached the final, but you weren't there. I wanted to win it to bring it to you and show you another trophy. I couldn't, my legs couldn't take it anymore. This time I tried to defy my body, but I couldn't. I just couldn't feel well.

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. We didn't become champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every single match. You were right again: I had to be there and play. I'm telling you this because it was the only thing we didn't get to talk about, as you already know everything else. We spoke every day and saw each other whenever we could, given my commitments.

I don't know what I'll 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 continue doing it for much longer. You were with me from the very beginning, and there was so little left until the end. Why couldn't you hold on a little longer so we could finish together?

I know your happiness was seeing your family well – your wife, your children, and most importantly, without others realizing it, watching me play… It's always been that way since I was little. You took me to all practices as soon as you got home from work. For many of them, Mom took me because you were working. Of course, you never missed a single match. How much you suffered watching me, and how much you enjoyed it, even though you never complimented me much.

You were a father, a friend, and a representative. You were always the person you needed to be at every moment, and you never made a mistake. Beyond a few reproaches or arguments, you were always right. In the end, it always turned out the way you said. I will miss you terribly, but you will always be present, especially in the upbringing of my children, because I teach and raise them the way you both did with me. Rest in peace and watch over us from above, just as you did down here. Thank you for everything. I love you, Dad ❤️".