Soccer player missed saying goodbye to the stepdad who raised him — now shares powerful ‘what if’ lesson

They say 'life is unpredictable,' and we've got to agree, because we might never know what's gonna happen next. Thiago Silva, a Brazilian footballer, experienced this back when he couldn't spend time with his stepfather, someone who meant so much to him. And when he realized this, it was already too late, and Silva had lost his dad forever. His beautiful words to his teammates before a match speak volumes about why we all shouldn't live by 'what if' scenarios in life, and rather focus on living in the present. Silva's speech was shared on X by The Touchline (@touchlinex) on July 3, 2025, and has received 360.4k views since then.

"Don’t wait until after the game to say, 'What could we have done differently?' he said, before explaining how he regretted not spending enough time with his stepdad. In 2014, when Silva was playing in the World Cup in Brazil, he spent one of his off days visiting his father, the man he said made him who he is today. He knew his stepfather was sick, but he just didn't realize the severity of his illness. "I returned to the national team. Things ended how they ended. He was hospitalized. I had to go back to Paris for preseason... After one of the first league matches, my wife called me, 'Your stepfather passed away,'" Silva recalled. The footballer went to confess that he didn't visit his dying father in the hospital because he always thought he would get better, but sadly, that never happened.

"What I want to say is: Don’t leave things for later if you can do them now. In the present. Don’t wait — there may not be time," Silva said, explaining how important it is to enjoy every moment, but with responsibility. "That said, we need to finish the match with 11 players. Don’t make it unfair; stay loyal to the group. Compete. May God bless us. Let’s go!" Silva added, motivating his teammates to give their 100% in the match, so that later they don't regret not performing their best. Just like Silva, many of us don't spend enough time with our loved ones, thinking we have more time with them, but sometimes, we just never get that chance. But thankfully, according to the Pew Research Center, about 73% of Americans have perhaps realized this profound truth and now rate spending time with family as one of the most crucial things.

Meanwhile, reacting to Silva's emotional speech, a person with the username @energytoexplore commented, "What a leader! I first thought I was not going to read the whole thing, but now I am happy I did. As he said, I did it now and not later. True leadership is to show up and lead! Thank you!" @kay wrote, "This man, I swear, is an absolute gem of a human being. I am lost for words while describing him because I know words will fall short. May God bless you forever and always."

Similarly, @iam_realwayne shared, "When we say a team like Chelsea needs experienced players, it's not just about kicking the ball; it's about something like this." @ammasaymymind said, "I'm so glad we gave this dude a Champions League trophy. It would have been so unfair if he had gone an entire career without one. What a leader!" Another user who goes by @sammyprimus1 wrote, "THIS IS A TEAM'S LEADER, painting a perfect picture of how it can be when things go sideways. I wish Nicolas Jackson had someone to say this to him. O Thiago! Monstro." Echoing the sentiments, @tutortosin1 said, "This is expected of a leader. Captaincy should be determined by one who can motivate the team even in the face of an adversary. You're a true-born leader."

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