Messi posts tribute to his father: I love you, Dad, I still cannot believe you are gone

Messi posted a tribute to his father: I love you, Dad

Messi wrote:

Father, I still cannot believe you are gone. I cannot accept it — or rather, I do not want to accept it. I can hardly imagine never seeing you again, never speaking to you again. I know you had been suffering, and this may be a relief for you, but you left far too soon. We still had so many moments we could have enjoyed together.

You kept begging me to take part in my final World Cup, yet a few days before the tournament kicked off, your condition turned worst. That was the first time you could not watch a major match in‑person. But Mum told me you would get better, well enough to travel. I told you we would reach the final so you could come.

After every match, I waited for your messages, missed your messages. That was when I truly realised how grave things were. Even so, I still wanted us to go as far as possible, to buy you time so you could watch one game.

We made it to the final, yet you could not be there. I wanted to win the championship and bring it to you, to show you the new trophy. But I failed. My legs could no longer hold me up. I tried to fight against my own body, yet I could not make it. I had been feeling unwell all along.

When I came back, you thought we had lost the final in the penalty shoot‑out. We never got to talk about anything that had happened. You got to enjoy none of it. We did not win the title, yet you had no idea how much we revelled in every single match. Once again, you were right: I should have been out there, I should have been playing.

I am telling you this, because this is the only thing we never got the chance to talk about. You already knew everything else. We spoke every day, and met whenever my schedule allowed.

Without you, I do not know what to do, how to move forward. All my life I have only known how to play football, yet now I am full of doubts about my future, unsure how much longer I can carry on. You have stood by my side from the very start, so close to the finish line. Why could you not have held on just a little longer, so we could walk to the end together?

I know your happiness lay in seeing your family, your wife and your children live well, and most of all — something not for others to know — watching me play football…

It has always been like this. Right after work you would take me to training. Very often Mum would take me because you were at work.

And of course, you never missed a single one of my matches. How anxious you were watching me play, yet how much you enjoyed it, even though you rarely praised me.

You were a father, a friend and an agent. You always stepped into every role perfectly, never making a single mistake. Aside from occasional complaints and quarrels, you were always right. In the end, things always unfolded exactly as you said they would.

I will miss you terribly, yet you will live forever inside me, especially in the way I raise my children — for I will guide them just as you raised me.

Rest in peace. As you guarded us on earth before, continue to watch over us from heaven now. Thank you for everything.

 

I love you, Dad.