"Stay strong": Ronaldo sets the historic rivalry aside and consoles Messi with moving words

Cristiano Ronaldo has reached across football's fiercest rivalry to comfort Lionel Messi. The Al-Nassr and Portugal captain sent a message of condolence to his old Argentine adversary following the death of Jorge Messi at the age of 68.

Jorge Messi died last week after a long battle with illness. His son published a moving tribute on Instagram, reflecting on the loss of his father and the huge role he played in his life and his career.

Ronaldo stands by Messi in his ordeal

Years of ferocious competition for the summit of world football did not stop Ronaldo standing beside his rival in this difficult moment.

The Portuguese replied to Messi's post with a few words that carried real weight, writing: "A big hug to you and your loved ones in this difficult moment, Leo. Stay strong."

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Rivalry on the pitch, it turns out, does not erase the human side off it. For years these two shared one of the most famous individual duels the game has ever seen.

Messi mourns his father with moving words

Grief poured out of Messi's lengthy tribute. He laid bare how hard it was to accept his father's absence and the fact that he would never speak to him again.

The Argentine 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 added: "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."

Recalling one of his father's wishes, Messi continued: "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."

"I don't know what I'll do without you"

The void hit hard. "I don't know what I'll do without you, and I don't know how I'll keep moving forward," Messi wrote.

He went on: "I was only playing football, and now I have many doubts about whether I'll continue doing so for much longer."

Then came a question that cut to the bone. The Argentina captain, remembering the man who had been by his side from the start, asked: "Why couldn't you hold on a little longer, so that we could finish the journey together?"

His father, a companion on the journey from the very beginning

Father and son shared an extraordinarily close bond throughout Messi's life. Jorge was there at every stage, from the early days at Newell's Old Boys to the very top of the world game.

He was far more than a father. Jorge managed his son's career as his agent, guided many of his biggest footballing decisions and handled the commercial side of the Messi name.

His happiness, Messi noted in the message, was tied to seeing his family thrive and, above all, to watching his son play. That habit stayed with him from Messi's childhood to the summit of footballing glory.

For one moment, the rivalry vanished. In its place stood a simple human gesture from one of the game's greatest stars to his historic rival, proof that condolence knows no touchline.

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