Arturo Vidal watches his dad’s funeral live on Instagram so he can play in the Brazilian cup final

Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal watched his dad’s funeral live on Instagram so that he could play in the Brazilian cup final.

The Chilean international, who counts Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Bayern Munich among his former clubs, moved to Brazilian giants Flamengo in July after leaving Inter.

The midfielder reportedly told his new club that he wouldn’t be returning to Santiago, his home city, in order to pay his respects to his late father Erasmo.

Erasmo, 61, died on Tuesday at a racecourse in Santiago where he cared for his son’s animals – after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Arturo Vidal watched his dad’s funeral on Instagram so he could play in the Brazilian cup final

Vidal’s sister Ambar went live on Instagram to broadcast the funeral and Vidal broke down in tears after tuning in before fans comforted him.

The midfielder came on after 65 minutes of the first leg clash with Corinthians in the final of the Copa do Brasil on Thursday, which ended 0-0.

Ahead of the game, Vidal had posted on social media: ‘Daddy, today I’ll miss your good luck message before the match.

‘But I know that you’ll be supporting us from Heaven. We’ll win this cup and the next one for you and for everyone who supports me on a daily basis.’

Vidal broke down in tears when joining the live Instagram video of his father’s funeral

He also shared images from the funeral on his Instagram account on Friday.

After news of his father’s death, Flamengo passed on their condolencees to Vidal in a statement.

They said: ‘We regret to inform you about the death of Erasmo Vidal, father of our player Arturo Vidal. We wish him strength at this difficult moment.’

The racecourse where Erasmo died had earlier confirmed his death in a statement. They said: ‘On Tuesday morning Erasmo Vidal was found inside the enclosure by security staff.

Vidal came on midway through the second half in Flamengo’s 0-0 draw with Corinthians

‘When they saw he was in a bad way, they contacted paramedics who work on site and rushed to the scene to provide emergency medical attention and call for more help.

‘Ambulance workers continued to try to save him when they arrived but his condition deteriorated as a result of cardiac arrest and hypovolemic shock and sadly he died.’

There have been various reports in Chilean media surrounding Vidal’s relationship with his father, with suggestions it was strained or non-existent, but Erasmo’s role included looking after his son’s horses back in Chile.

Vidal has spent much of his career in Europe, playing for clubs such as Barcelona and Juventus