Messi says not certain to play ‘much longer’ after father’s death

Argentina superstar and inspiration behind his country’s 2022 World Cup victory 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. saltysenoritaaz.org

In the message, Messi, whose contract with Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami runs till the end of the 2028 season, reflected on the final months of his father’s life, which coincided with the 2026 World Cup.

“I kept telling you we would reach the final so you could make the trip,” said Messi, who returned to the United States on Tuesday night following his father’s funeral on Sunday.

“We made it to the final, but you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it to bring it to you and show you a new one. I couldn’t, my legs just gave out.

“This time I tried to push past my physical limits, but I couldn’t. I never felt right,” Messi said in his first comments after the 1–0 loss to Spain in the final in New Jersey.

Messi highlighted his father’s pivotal role in his life and career: “You were a father, a friend, and an agent. You were always exactly who you needed to be in every moment, and you never put a foot wrong.”

Jorge Messi’s unusual absence from the World Cup in June had already attracted attention.

Messi’s family asked the media for “humanity” during the tournament amid persistent rumours over Jorge’s health.

After bursting into tears after scoring against Algeria in a group match, Messi had admitted to dealing with “a situation outside of sports”.

On Sunday, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner bid farewell to his father during a private ceremony with close family and a few Argentina teammates in the town of Perez, adjacent to Rosario.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but local media reported that Jorge Messi had been suffering from cancer.

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann said that his team were relishing the chance to test themselves against the All Blacks in their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour match at Loftus on Saturday, but admitted that they would not be at their peak for the match.

The game comes when the Bulls ordinarily would have just returned from their off-season break and would only be in the conditioning phase of their preparations for the coming season, but instead had to return early.

Having reached the United Rugby Championship final in late June, the Bulls also ended their season later than the other South African sides, leaving even less time off and time to prepare than some of the other teams have had.

“It’s not to use it as an excuse, but the fact that we went to the final means we had less time to prepare than the other franchises,” explained Ackermann.

“We would probably only just have returned from the break, we had to cut the break short. We have to give the guys a five-week break, but we could only give them three weeks.

“Conditioning is one thing, but your body, after three or four weeks, loses its contact ability. So we had to fast-track all of that. If this game wasn’t there, we would probably have been in a conditioning phase only. So it has put a bit of pressure on us.”

Ideal situation

Ackermann explained that the Bulls would ideally have liked to get some players match fit and tested some systems before heading into a game of this magnitude, but unfortunately they were unable to do that.

“Normally you play a warm-up match or two, you trial stuff, see if it works and see what players are in form. Now we’re basically picking from the squad we’ve got left, and then the odd guys who were unlucky not to be selected have been given off training. It’s a bit unfair, but that’s the hand we’ve got,” said Ackermann.

“It’s a great occasion, but we will definitely be a bit underprepared from where we want to be. We’re building up to the URC and that’s still a few weeks away, so we don’t want to peak now.

“We just want to embrace the occasion and hopefully get a reward for what we’ve tried to practise over the last few weeks.”

Despite their struggles, Ackermann says his team will be going all out to make things difficult for the All Blacks, and they will hope to challenge them like the Stormers did, and not be run over like the Sharks were.

“Listen, we’re competitive, and we’re going to give them a run for their money, hopefully. That’s the aim. We don’t want to make it easy.”

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando da Cruz has made changes to the team that started against Golden Arrows in the MTN8 last weekend.

Goalkeeper Brandon Petersen has kept his place in the starting line-up despite his costly error that gifted Arrows the only goal of the game.

Dillan Solomons gets the nod ahead of Thabiso Monyane while the rest of the back four remains unchanged.

In midfield, Da Cruz has brought in Sibongiseni Mthethwa, and he will play alongside Lebohang Maboe in midfield.

Asavele Velebayi and Luke Baartman get to start while newly-signed attacker Langelihle Phili gets to make his full Chiefs debut.

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KAIZER CHIEFS STARTING XI VS SEKHUKHUNE UNITED

Kaizer Chiefs XI: Petersen, Solomons, Frosler, Kwinika, Miguel, Mthethwa, Maboe, Baartman, Velebayi, Ighodaro, Phili.

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