Messi Casts Doubt on His Future After Father’s Death

Lionel Messi has said that he can’t be sure how much longer he will keep playing, in an emotional tribute after the death of his father and long-time representative, Jorge Messi. The 68-year-old died on the seventh of August at a medical clinic in Rosario, Argentina, following a long illness.

The 39-year-old’s family confirmed the news to the Reuters news agency, and tributes have followed from across Argentinian football, including from Messi’s boyhood club, Newell’s Old Boys.

Jorge Shaped Messi’s Career From the Very Beginning

Jorge Messi was more than a parent to his son. For years, he worked as Lionel’s agent and closest adviser, and it was Jorge who brought a young Messi over to Barcelona in the early 2000s, when the move that eventually led to a place in the club’s La Masia Academy was being arranged. He went on managing his son’s affairs long after Lionel had become one of the most decorated players in the sport’s history and remained close to the family throughout, alongside his wife Celia and their other children, Rodrigo, Matías and María Sol.

Leo Messi pens an emotional post to his late father, Jorge, who passed last week. 💔 pic.twitter.com/Q8flfQGoWQ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2026

Jorge’s declining health had become part of the story of Argentina’s World Cup campaign this summer. Messi broke down in tears after scoring a hat-trick in the opening match against Algeria and later said that the emotion had little to do with the game itself. Within days, his family confirmed that Jorge was being treated for a serious illness. He was too unwell to travel to the United States of America to watch the tournament. Argentina’s run ended in a 1-0 extra-time defeat by Spain in the final on the 19th of July.

Messi has since said that his father had wanted so badly to see him reach that final that he pushed his own body further than it could take. The player signed a new deal with Inter Miami last October that runs until 2028, when he will turn 41, and had previously suggested that he intended to carry on for a while yet, provided he stayed fit and could still help his teammates. His latest comments mark a shift in tone. It may be that grief, rather than fitness or form, is driving the uncertainty. Jorge had been Messi’s sounding board since boyhood, and his death seems to have raised a bigger question than form or fitness ever did.