Untold Stories: Lionel Messi

Lionel "Leo" Messi is a world-renowned Argentine professional football player who plays for both the Argentine National Team and FC Barcelona. While Messi is the current captain of both teams, he is often considered to be the best player in the world and one of the greatest players of all time.

The world knows the star called Leo Messi, yet few know of the interesting life he has lived. In this episode of Untold Stories, we're going to discuss and disclose Lionel Messi's life, childhood, family, his rise to fame, and personal life. But first, let's take a look at some important facts about him.

Lionel Messi Bio:

Full Name: Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini

Birth Date: June 24, 1987

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Ethnicity: Mixed (Italian and Catalan)

Religion: Roman Catholic

Birthplace: Rosario, Santa Fe

Country: Argentina

Nationality: Argentine and Spanish

Club: FC Barcelona

Current Age: 32

Annual Salary: £50 million

Net Worth: $400 million

Height: 5'7" (1.69 m)

Weight: 68 kg

Current Residence: Castelldefels, Spain

Now we will briefly talk about Lionel Messi's life. Without further ado, let's dig in.

Family and Early Life

Lionel Andrés Messi was born on June 24, 1987, to Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini. He was born in the town of Rosario, which is based in Santa Fe, Argentina. Jorge was a steel factory manager, and Celia worked as a cleaner at a magnet manufacturing plant. Leo's father is an Italian and Catalan descendant, though Messi has Italian origins on his mother's side.

Young Messi was raised since childhood in a close, family environment. Initially, he had played football with his older brothers and his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi. From a very tender age, Leo developed a passion for the game.

Lionel Messi Childhood:

Messi's grandma, Celia, introduced him to the Grandoli central football club for the first time at age four. He was coached there by his father.

When Leo was six, he joined Newell's Old Boys. This was a local football club where the football prodigy played till he was 10. During this time, he scored around 500 goals for his team "The Machine of 87"

Messi's Childhood Struggles

Messi was 10 years old when he was diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency. Leo had stopped growing and looked significantly smaller than his peers. He needed a monthly therapy of growth hormones costing approximately 1500$. Jorge's health insurance, sadly, would cover just two years of medication and couldn't afford the necessary amount needed for Messi.

Messi's Financial Struggles

Messi's father started looking for aid in order to pay for his sons medications. Newell’s Old Boys club came in through to help at the beginning, but the expensive nature of Messi's medication forced them to call off their offer.

Messi was then scouted by South American giant River Plate, but due to the declining economic condition in Argentina, the club were unable to support him financially and withdrew their offer shortly after.

How Did Messi Join FC Barcelona?

Messi’s father had relatives in Catalonia, and they arranged a trial for Messi with the prominent Spanish club Barcelona. Barcelona’s first team director Charly Rexach had already heard of 13-year-old Leo’s god-like talents. Charly sent an offer to Messi’s family, promising to take care of his medical expenses if he passed the trial.

Messi’s First Contract

Young Leo went with his father to Barcelona and took part in the trial. The director was impressed with Messi's skills on the field. In fact, he was so impressed that he wrote up a contract for Messi on a paper napkin and gave it to him.

Messi's Journey to Greatness

Young Messi crossed the Atlantic in February 2001, in an attempt to try his luck. Messi's family had decided to move to Spain, and took up residence in a small flat near the Camp Nou stadium where Messi would train.

Leo joined the Infantil B (Under-12 youth category) team of the La Masia Academy. He was just 4'9" at the age of 13.

At practice, everyone was impressed by Leo's extraordinary ability of passing through the defenders. Messi's first match against FC Amposta in March, in which he scored a goal but broke his fibula. This injury put Leo's career at an imminent risk, but he recovered in a week and rejoined his post.

Things became even worse when Messi’s mother and his siblings decided to move back to Argentina. Messi’s father stayed back to support his son. This made Leo extremely homesick, because the only people he could interact with were his family. In fact, Leo was so shy that he didn’t talk to his teammates at first. This led Leo’s teammates to believe that he was mute. During the day, he practiced on the field and received his hormone injections at night.

Messi's First Season

Messi was enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RSFF) in 2002. Owing to his excellent success, Leo rose rapidly through the ranks. Messi became friends with his future Barcelona mates Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué. As he slowly won his teammates' hearts, Leo was given the nickname 'Enano' (dwarf) by his teammates.

Messi became a major part of Barcelona’s Southside, the "Baby Dream Team." Lionel Messi scored 36 goals in 30 games in his first season (2002-03). At the end of the season Leo received an offer from Arsenal. Piqué and Fàbregas left for England, while Messi remained loyal to Barcelona.

Messi's Rise to Fame

Messi's career began to shine over time, as he started training with Barcelona's reverse side team - Barcelona B. Ronaldinho, the star player of Barcelona at that time, soon befriended him, calling him 'little brother'. Ronaldinho often said that Leo would become an even better player than him.

First Senior Contract With Barcelona

Messi signed first senior contract with Barcelona, a €150 million deal, on his 18th birthday in 2005. FC Inter Milan offered to buy Messi from Barca, and triple his wages. This put the club in a real risk to lose the Messi, but he remained with Barcelona.

Messi's Accolades for Barcelona

By 2018, Messi had been named the new captain of Barcelona, obtaining 400 La Liga goals, 600 club goals, 50 hat tricks, and 50 penalty goals. Till now, Messi has won a record number of six Balon d'Or. He has won 4 UEFA Champions League Trophies for Barcelona. The first one was in 2005-06, the second one is 2008-09, the third one in 2010-11, and the last one in the 2014-15 season.

Messi's Argentina Career

Messi has both Argentine and Spanish nationality and is eligible to play for both countries. Spain offered Messi to join their national team in 2003. Messi respectfully declined the offer, and shortly after his 17th birthday, he joined the Argentine National Team. Leo started off in a game against Uruguay, and won a stunning victory of 8-0. Leo made his debut in the 2006 World Cup, becoming the youngest player to represent Argentina in the World Cup.

Billed as Messi vs Germany, 2014 World Cup final was called the best player in the world vs the best team in the world. Germany won, but Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the Best Player of the Tournament. This severely wounded Messi and prompted him to retire from football.

Leo then soon reappeared in the Argentine squad but has won absolutely no awards for the country. But Messi is Argentina's all-time top scorer. Having played for Barcelona his whole life, Messi has won a record 34 trophies for his club and his country, with more than 700 top career goals.

Here is a quick stat about Messi's achievements in club Football.

Most goals in La Liga - 438

Most hat-tricks in La Liga - 36

Most goals in La Liga and a European season - 50

Most hat-tricks in UEFA Champions League - 8

Most assists in La Liga - 181

Goals for Barcelona - 603

Lionel Messi's Profile:

Due to his growth deficiency, Lionel Messi is only 5'7" in height, but has great stamina and can play with an elusive technique. He is left-footed and has a weak foot.

Messi's Playing Style

Leo is a dribbler, and his precision in goal-scoring, as well as goal-making and assistance, has earned him the title of a team player. Leo's favorite position is the playmaker, behind two strikers, where he's been playing since childhood. Because of his versatile playing style, Messi can play in almost any position.

Messi's Reception in Argentina:

Diego Maradona said about Messi in an interview once with BBC - "I see him as very similar to me. He's a leader and is offering lessons in beautiful football. He has something different than any other player in the world."

While Maradona himself addresses Messi as his true successor, Leo is rather less favored in his own country. This is mainly because of Messi's lacking performance in the Argentine squad, and his inability to win a title for Argentina.

Messi vs Ronaldo

The rivalry between Lionel Messi and Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo is known to all, but it's basically a rivalry between the fans of their supporters. In many interviews, both the players have denied any sort of rivalry between themselves. Ronaldo has stated numerous times that he doesn't have any personal connection with Messi outside the field, and Messi has said the same.

Messi's Current Net worth:

Messi is currently one of the highest-paid players in the world and is considered one of the most influential athletes of the 21st century. As of 2020, Messi's net worth is $400 million, and he currently earns £500,000 a week. Messi's annual income is around £50 million, while also earning around $40 million a year from his deal with Adidas. Messi is considered a global icon and is the brand ambassador to companies such as Adidas, Gillette, Turkish Airlines, and Tata Motors.

Lionel Messi's Personal Life

Before talking about Leo's personal life, let's have a quick glance at his family's details.

Messi's Family Tree

Father: Jorge Messi

Mother: Celia Cuccittini

Siblings: 3 (2 brothers and 1 sister)

Wife: Antonella Roccuzzo

Children: 3 (sons)

Grandparents: Celia (grandmother, deceased)

Who is Messi's Partner?

Messi has been married to his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo since 2017. The fellow Rosarians met when they were just five years old. Antonella is the cousin of his best friend Lucas Scaglia, who's also a footballer now.

However, they officially met each other 8 years later and started dating in 2000. Initially, Messi kept their relationship a secret. In 2008, Roccuzzo moved to Barcelona to be with him. Leo officially announced their relationship in 2009.

How many children does Messi have?

Messi and Roccuzzo have three sons, Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. Thiago Messi, the oldest of the three, was born on November 2, 2012. Mateo Mesi was born on September 15, 2015. Ciro Messi was born a year after their marriage, on March 10, 2018.

Lionel Messi's Parents

Messi's father Jorge was born in 1958, who currently works as his agent. Messi's mother Celia Maria, manages Mesi's charity foundation.

Young Leo also had a maternal grandmother named Celia, who later became a great role in his life.

How many siblings does Messi have?

Lionel Messi is the third of four siblings. Messi grew up with older brothers Matias Messi, Rodrigo Messi, and younger sister Maria Sol Messi.

Messi's older brother Rodrigo Messi was born on February 10, 1980, who manages Messi's publicity now. Matias Messi was born on June 23, 1982. Messi also has a younger sister, Maria Sol. Leo keeps a close relationship with his family and is a very private person.

Lionel Messi's Tattoos

Messi wears a number of tattoos, all resembling something significant in his life. Messi has a tattoo of his mother on his back, with a tattoo of Jesus, a lotus flower, a rose window of the Church building, all on his right hand. Messi also has a tattoo of his jersey number 10 on his left foot.

What are Lionel Messi's Nicknames?

Messi's tremendous amount of talent and willpower has earned him a couple of nicknames. They are,

'The little maestro'

‘El captain pulga'

“La Pulga"

Atomic Flea

Messiah

Messidona

Messi earned the nickname 'La Pulga' or Atomic Flea due to his ability to get past defenders extremely fast. Messi earned the title ' little maestro' because of his small stature. The Spanish media gave Messi the nickname 'Messiah' when he was 20. Diego Maradona have repeatedly said that Messi is his true successor, hence the nickname 'Messidona'.

Lionel Messi's Charity Work

Lionel Messi is often cited as a living legend, being loved by millions of people alike all around the globe. Leo established the Lionel Messi Foundation in 2007, which mostly provides healthcare and education for vulnerable children. Messi was made a UNICEF ambassador in 2010.

Conclusion:

The world knows Lionel Messi as one of the greatest football players of all time. But despite all the attention and fame, Leo is a humble and down to earth person. Messi does not play for money or fame, his loyalty to his country and club has proved that. He is a good father and a good husband, and most importantly, a good human being. The little maestro is an ideal human being, even if not the greatest football player of all time. Stay tuned for more untold stories to know about the untold facts of your favorite player.