Lionel Messi is approaching the closing stages of a remarkable career that has already spanned more than two decades at the highest level.
The Argentine remains active at 39, having recently helped his country reach the 2026 World Cup final. Argentina narrowly missed another World Cup title after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Spain.
However, football has taken a secondary role for Messi following a devastating personal loss. His father and long-time agent, Jorge Messi, died last week aged 68 after a prolonged illness.
Jorge played an instrumental role throughout his son’s extraordinary journey.
He had represented Messi as his agent since the Argentina international was 14 and remained a central figure throughout his career.
Messi has now raised significant questions about whether he wants to continue playing following his father’s death.
Lionel Messi has admitted he is unsure whether he will continue playing football for much longer as he struggles to come to terms with the loss. He said:
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to carry on. I used to just play football, and now I’m really not sure if I’ll carry on doing it for much longer.”
The admission represents one of Messi’s clearest indications yet that retirement could be approaching.
However, he has not announced a retirement date or confirmed that he has decided to stop playing.
Messi’s comments instead underline the uncertainty surrounding his immediate future as he deals with an exceptionally difficult period away from football.
His latest international campaign ended only weeks before his father’s death. Messi had helped Argentina progress all the way to the World Cup final before Spain denied them another title.
The forward’s eventual retirement would bring an end to one of football’s most decorated careers.
He has won eight Ballon d’Or awards, four Champions League titles and the 2022 World Cup among his numerous honours. For now, Lionel Messi remains uncertain about what comes next.
❤️🩹🇦🇷 Leo Messi: “Dad, you kept asking me to play in one last World Cup… just days before it began was when your condition got worse”.
“It was the first time you weren’t going to be there with me at tournament… but Mom kept telling me you were going to get better and that you’d… pic.twitter.com/MumdaM8BHN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 12, 2026
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