Lionel Messi played for Inter Miami on Wednesday following the death of his father, his first appearance for the club since hinting he may retire.
The Argentina captain was a half-time substitute in his team’s 3-2 defeat to Leon in the final group game of the Leagues Cup.
It came after the issued an emotional statement saying he was unsure whether he would play on much longer after the death of his father Jorge last week.
“You were by my side from the 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 don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” he said in a social media post.
“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.”
Messi had missed his team’s 2-1 loss to Monterrey on Saturday and attended a private funeral at a cemetery in the town of Perez outside hometown Rosario on Sunday.
Jorge had been Messi’s agent from the age of 14, watching him become one of the sport’s greatest ever players and was present as he captained his country to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Argentina reached the final of this summer’s tournament but were beaten 1-0 by Spain in extra time. Messi wrote that his father urged him “to play in one last World Cup” despite his health deteriorating.
Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos said following Wednesday’s game: “I’ve always said that this is a very painful thing and it takes sometimes a long time. When I lost my father, it was hard. He was my guide. I needed him in many cases and I felt alone.
“It’s a big blow in a man’s life, for an extraordinary man and an extraordinary family. So it’s a very painful thing.”
Opposition coach Javier Gandolfi said: “He is a player that as far as I can tell, is the best player in history. He’s the best player in history, inside the pitch, and also with some other actions I would see at a distance.
“Today he demonstrated once more what he’s made of. He is a human being that is different to the rest.”