Messi hints at retirement following father’s death

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Lionel Messi revealed he has “quite a few doubts” about playing football “for much longer” following the death of his father.

Messi’s father, Jorge, passed away last weekend following a long illness, and the Inter Miami captain travelled back to Argentina for the funeral.

The 39-year-old had not spoken about his future at either club or international level since Argentina’s defeat to Spain in the World Cup final last month.

Messi enjoyed a strong World Cup campaign, with only Kylian Mbappe scoring (10) and directly contributing to more goals (14) than the Argentine (eight goals, 12 direct goal contributions).

He said his father encouraged him to feature at the tournament after rumours around a potential retirement, and those suggestions have now grown after Messi posted an emotional tribute to his father on Instagram.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, I don’t know how to carry on,” Messi wrote.

“I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts that I will keep doing it for much longer.

“You were by my side from the beginning; there was so little left until the end. Why didn’t you hold on just that little bit longer so we could finish together?”

Messi missed Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup defeat to Monterrey last week, and is expected to be absent when they face Leon on Wednesday in the same competition.

In MLS, Miami are currently second in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Nashville SC, their next opponents in the league.

Miami are the reigning MLS Cup champions, though Messi’s immediate future could change the trajectory of the club.

MLS News

Sanchez hopes experience will lead to ‘memorable moments’ at Montreal

MLS News

Harrison wants to win MLS Cup for ‘ambitious’ New England

MLS News

‘Casemiro said he only wanted to play for the Galaxy’, claims GM

MLS News

‘Absolute killer’ Lewandowski hugely invested in Chicago project

MLS News

Colorado ‘motivated and excited’ ahead of Austin clash

MLS News

San Diego’s Achouri understands ‘big responsibility’ of being designated player

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.