Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup Group J match versus Austria at Dallas Stadium in Texas, United States, on Monday. Messi is now the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup football history. (Photo: AFP)
August 12, 2026
Messi says not certain to play ‘much longer’ after father’s death
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP)—Argentina superstar Lionel Messi said Wednesday he has “serious doubts” about continuing to play football for “much longer” after the death of his father Jorge Messi.
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer,” Messi, 39, wrote in a message on social media after his father, who was also his agent, died last week aged 68.
