Lionel Messi pays tribute to late father Jorge for impact on his career in Instagram post

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has paid tribute to the role his dad, Jorge Messi, played during his career and opened up about how difficult it was to lead Argentina at the World Cup this summer as his father's health deteriorated.

After undergoing treatment in recent months for an unspecified illness, Jorge Messi died last weekend at a hospital in the central Argentina city of Rosario. He was 68.

"Dad, I still can't believe you have gone," Messi posted on social media on Wednesday.

"It is difficult to imagine that I won't see you again; that we won't speak anymore. I know you were suffering and it's for the best, but you left too soon. We still had so much left to enjoy together.

"You were my dad, my friend and my agent. You were always the person that had to be there in every moment. You never made mistakes. You were always right. In the end, everything turned out as you said.

"I am going to miss you so much, but you will always be present, above all in the education of my kids, because I will teach them and educate them as you did with me."

Jorge Messi relocated to Barcelona when Lionel Messi was 13 to support his son's career and was by his side as he developed into the best player in the world, winning the Ballon d'Or eight times, countless trophies with Barça and the World Cup with Argentina.

However, as his health problems worsened earlier this year, he was unable to attend this summer's World Cup in North America.

Despite that, Lionel Messi led Argentina to another final, where they lost to Spain, always in the hope that his father would be able to make the next game.

"You asked me to play in this last World Cup so many times and just before it started was when you were at your worst," the post continued.

"It was the first time you were not at a tournament, but mum told me you would get better and you would be able to travel. I told you we would reach the final so you could come.

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"When each game finished, I waited for and then missed your messages. That was when I realised how bad the situation was. But I did not stop thinking about going as far as possible, to give you time and for you to be able to see a game if we reached the final.

"But you could not be there. I wanted to win it to bring it home and show you [the World Cup] again. I couldn't, my legs had nothing left to give. I tried, but I couldn't.

"You thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn't speak about anything that had happened. I couldn't enjoy anything.

"We were not champions in the end, but you don't know how much we enjoyed every game. You were right once again: I had to be there and play at the World Cup.

"I tell you this because it's the only thing we could not speak about, because you know everything else. We spoke every day and we saw each other whenever my commitments allowed.

"I don't know what I will do without you, how I will go on. I have always just played football and now I have so many doubts about what I will keep doing.

"You were by my side from the start, there was so little left until the end [of my career]. Why did you not just hold on a little longer and we could have finished it together?"

As well as his wife, Celia Cuccittini, Jorge Messi is survived by his four children: Lionel Messi and his two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and Lionel's younger sister, María Sol.

There have been messages of support from across the football world for the Messi family, with Inter Miami defender Facundo Mura saying the entire team has been affected by the passing of their teammate's father.

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