Cristiano Ronaldo has put aside his long-standing rivalry with Lionel Messi to offer words of comfort to the Argentine following the death of his father, Jorge Messi.
Jorge, 68, died last week after a prolonged illness.
Messi subsequently shared an emotional tribute to his father on Instagram, reflecting on his loss and the significant role Jorge played throughout his life and football career.
Ronaldo, the Portugal and Al-Nassr captain, responded to Messi’s post with a heartfelt message of support, writing, “A big hug to you and your loved ones in this difficult moment, Leo. Stay strong.”
The message highlighted the respect between two players whose careers have been defined by one of football’s most famous rivalries.
Messi’s tribute revealed the depth of his grief as he struggled to come to terms with losing his father.
The Argentina captain wrote, “Dad, I still can’t believe you’re gone. I’m not falling apart, or rather, I don’t want to fall apart.”
He continued, “It’s very hard for me to imagine that I won’t see you again, and that we won’t talk to each other any more. I know you were suffering, and that this was perhaps for the best for you, but you left far too soon. We still had so much to enjoy together.”
Messi also recalled his father’s desire to see him feature at another World Cup, saying, “You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup, and in the days just before it started your condition began to deteriorate significantly.”
The 39-year-old admitted that his father’s death had left him questioning his future in football.
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, and I don’t know how I’ll keep moving forward,” Messi wrote.
He added, “I was only playing football, and now I have many doubts about whether I’ll continue doing so for much longer.”
Messi then expressed his pain over his father’s death, asking, “Why couldn’t you hold on a little longer, so that we could finish the journey together?”
Jorge was a central figure throughout Messi’s rise from his early days at Newell’s Old Boys to becoming one of the greatest players in football history.
He also managed his son’s career as his agent and played a key role in major professional and commercial decisions.
For decades, Ronaldo and Messi competed for individual honours and global supremacy, but the Portuguese star’s message showed a different side of their relationship as he offered support during one of Messi’s most difficult moments.
