Lionel Messi shares emotional statement after father's death as he addresses future career

Lionel Messi has broken his silence following the death of his dad last week.

It was announced on August 8 that Jorge Messi had died the night before in Rosario, Argentina.

Jorge is said to have been suffering ill health for some weeks, including during Lionel's recent World Cup stint in America.

In the wake of his father's death, the soccer icon has paid tribute to his dad online.

"Dad, I still can't believe you're gone. It hasn't sunk in - or rather, I don't want it to. It's very hard for me to imagine that I'm never going to see you again, that we're never going to talk again," his heartbreaking message began, per GB News.

"I know you were suffering and that this is for the best, but you left too soon. We still had so much left to enjoy together."

"You wanted me so badly to play in this last World Cup, and just days before it started was when you got worse. It was the first time you weren't going to be at a tournament, but Mom kept telling me that you were going to get better and that you'd be well enough to travel.

"I kept telling you that we were going to reach the final, so you could make the trip."

The Inter Miami CF star went on to write that he realized how 'serious the situation really was' regarding his dad's health when Jorge didn't contact him after his games like he usually would.

"Even so, I couldn't stop thinking about going as far as possible, to buy you more time and so you could watch at least one game," Lionel continued.

"We reached the final, and you couldn't be there. I wanted to win it so I could bring it to you and show you another one. I couldn't. My legs had nothing left to give. This time I tried to push beyond my physical limits, but I couldn't. I never managed to feel right."

Argentina made it to the final but lost out to Spain.

The heartbroken soccer player further penned that he doesn't now what he will do without his dad and raised questions about the future of his sporting career.

Lionel said: "I don't know how to keep going. I only played football, and now I have a lot of doubts about whether I'll keep doing it for much longer. You were by my side from the very beginning. There was so little left until the end. Why couldn't you hold on just a little longer so we could finish this together?"

He concluded his tear-jerking message: "Rest in peace, and watch over us from above the way you did here. Thank you for everything. I love you, Dad."

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email [email protected].