Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to Messi's tribute to father Jorge Messi

Four days after his father’s death, Lionel Messi paid tribute to Jorge Messi in a heartbreaking statement on social media.

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was prominent amongmillions of people who reacted to Messi's tribute to his father on Instagram.

"A huge hug to you and yours in these tough times, Leo. Much strength," wrote Ronaldo in the comments section of Messi's post.

Messi's social media post honoring his father coincided with reports that Ronaldo ​got married to his longtime ‌girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez ​in a ​civil and private ceremony ⁠in Cascais, ​Portugal.

Messi's father, Jorge, died on Friday night aged 68 at a medical clinic in the Argentine city of Rosario after a long illness.

Jorge spent his final months alternating between a medical center in Rosario and his home, accompanied by his wife Celia and ‌his children Rodrigo, Matias and Maria Sol.

Below is the full statement released by Messi:

"Dad, I still can’t believe you’re gone. I can’t process it, or rather, I don’t want to. It’s so hard for me to imagine that I’m never going to see you again, that we’re never going to talk again. I know you were suffering and that this is for the best, but you left too soon.

We still had so much left to enjoy together. You kept asking me so much to play in the last World Cup, and it was just days before it started that you got worse.

It was the first time you weren’t going to be at a tournament, but Mom kept telling me that you were going to get better and that you’d be well enough to travel.

I kept telling you we were going to reach the final so you could travel.

Every time a match ended I waited for and missed your message.

That’s when I realized the situation was really bad. Even so, I never stopped thinking about going as far as possible, to give you time and so you could watch a match.

We reached the final and you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it so I could bring it to you and show you a new one.

I couldn’t; my legs had nothing left. This time I tried my cynicism, but I couldn’t. I never managed to feel okay.

When I arrived you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn’t talk about any of what happened. You couldn’t enjoy anything. We weren’t champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every single match.

Once again, you were right: I had to know how to play it.

I’m telling you this because it was the only thing we couldn’t talk about, because you already know everything else. We spoke every day and saw each other whenever we could around my commitments.

I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I only played soccer and now I have serious doubts about whether I’m going to keep doing it for much longer. 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 have finished together?

I know your happiness was seeing your family well—your wife, your children, and above all, without the others finding out, seeing me play…It’s been like that since I was little.

You used to take me to every training session as soon as you got home from work.

For a lot of them Mom took me because you were working.

Obviously you never missed a single match. How you suffered watching me and how you enjoyed it, even though you never gave me many compliments.

You were a dad, a friend, and a representative. You were always the person you needed to be in every moment and you never got anything wrong.

Beyond a few reproaches or arguments, you were always right.

In the end it always turned out the way you said.

I’m going to miss you so much, but you’ll always be present, and above all in the education of my children, because I teach them and raise them the way you both raised me.

Rest in peace and look after us from above the way you did down here. Thank you for everything.

I love you, Dad."