Soccer megastar Lionel Messi lost his father last week and the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and former World Cup winner seems to be nearing a crossroads in his career because of it.
Following his father's passing, Messi posted a very emotional goodbye message where he openly expressed doubts about his soccer future and how much he'll want to continue now that he's gone.
""I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to carry on. All I ever did was play football, and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer," Messi wrote. "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 it together? I know your happiness was seeing your family doing well, your wife, your children, and above all, without the others finding out, watching me play…
"I’m going to miss you so much, but you’ll always be present, especially in the way I raise my children, because I teach and raise them the way you raised me. Rest in peace and look after us from above, just as you did down here. Thank you for everything. I love you, Dad."
Accelerating the End?
Soccer fans have widely looked at Messi's career as winding down for some time now. His decision to go from Paris Saint-Germain in Europe to Inter Miami in MLS was seen as a sign that he doesn't want to compete for the biggest trophies at the club level anymore.
But Messi has thrived in MLS and recently showed that he's far from done being great at the international level with a record-setting performance at the FIFA World Cup.
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Clearly the man still has the skill to continue being a force in international soccer.
But we haven't seen much of Messi on the field since his father's passing. If the loss of his father truly saps his will to continue, no amount of skill is likely to be enough to overcome it.
What will Lionel Messi's next step be?
