Lionel “Leo” Messi, a very young Barcelona talent, is today considered by many to be the best player in the world and the legitimate heir of Diego Armando Maradona. In 2009 alone he received the Ballon d’Or as the best European footballer, the FIFA World Player award (he finished second in 2007 and 2008), as well as the recognition of top scorer and best player in the Champions’ League – won against Manchester United in the final in Rome.
Born in Rosario (Argentina), Messi landed very young on the soccer fields of his hometown, showing uncommon talent and speed. He plays for Grandoli and Newell’s Old Boys, but is not hired by the most famous Argentine club, River Plate, which does not undertake to pay for his medicines due to his somatotropin deficiency. Continue to read and find out more about Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi
Born in Rosario to Jorge Horacio Messi, a steel mill worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a cleaning lady, Lionel Messi is of Italian descent : his paternal great-great-grandfather Angelo Messi migrated from Recanati in 1883, and his maternal great-great-grandfather Raniero Coccettini migrated from San Severino Marche in 1899. He is also a distant relative of former Italian boxer Luca Messi, with whom he shares family origins.
Messi is the father of three children, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, born to his partner Antonella Roccuzzo in 2012, 2015 and 2018 respectively. He has two older brothers and a sister, and is a cousin of footballers Maxi and Emanuel Biancucchi. In October 2011, the Lleida newspaper Segre also revealed a probable relationship between the Argentine and Bojan Krkić, who are said to be 4th cousins. In 2005 he obtained Spanish citizenship, becoming a Community citizen.
Lionel Messi net worth
Argentinian player Lionel Messi is a name that crosses everyone’s mind when one thinks of an athlete. At present, Lionel Messi has a net worth of $400 million with a salary of €71 million ($84 million). Indeed, he is one of the most decorated footballers and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Lionel Messi wife
Lionel Messi is truly one of the luckiest men in the world: not only is he one of the strongest footballers of all time, with Barcelona in particular and then, from 2021, at Paris Saint Germain, but also a boy who is very much in love with his woman. Messi’s wife is the beautiful Antonella Roccuzzo, Argentine like him, born in 1988 : she has practically always been part of Leo Messi’s life.
The two met at the age of 5, thanks to Lucas Scaglia, the footballer’s best friend and Antonella’s cousin. They grew up together: Antonella was Messi’s girlfriend for a long time, without ever doubting, until, in the summer of 2017, the two finally decided to get married. Here’s what you need to know about her.
Antonella was born in Rosario, the same city as Lionel, on February 26, 1988, under the sign of Pisces, and is the daughter of an entrepreneur in the food sector, Josè, and a housewife, Patricia Blanco. Her family has distant Italian origins (in particular, Calabrian). She has been referred to several times as ” the little one “: in fact, with her 57 meters she is not very tall, but considering that her footballer husband does not exceed 170 meters (his nickname is the flea ), she could be defined as a perfect height.
There are not many kids who know how to indicate at the age of 10 what the woman of their life will be, but Leo knew it. In fact, Messi and his wife have been together since they were children, well before he became a famous footballer. They have always tried to preserve their private life from the flashes of photographers and paparazzi even when notoriety has obviously invaded their lives, knowing how to dose confidentiality and public appearances well.
Lionel Messi Paris Saint Germain
On 10 August 2021, his free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain was made official, with whom he agreed until 2023, with an option for a one-year extension. He chooses to wear the number 30 shirt, the same one he had in his early years at Barcelona, granted to him by way of derogation from the FFF at the club’s request.
He made his official debut in Ligue 1 on the following August 29, on the occasion of the away success against Reims, taking over from Neymar in the second half. On 15 September, however, he made his debut in the Champions League with the Parisian club, in the draw against Club Brugge, reaching 150 appearances in European competitions together, while on 28 September, in the same competition, finds the first goal, setting the match against Manchester City at 2-0. On 20 November, he scored his first league goal, in a home win over Nantes, while eight days later, on the occasion of the away win over Saint-Étienne, he provided, for the fifth time in his career, three assists in the same match.
On 29 November 2021, due to the 48 goals scored in the calendar year and the victory of the 2021 Copa América with the Argentina national team, he was awarded the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time in his career. However, the Argentine finds many difficulties in adapting to the Parisian reality, failing to be decisive in the continuation of the season, also due to a lack of understanding with his teammates and with coach Pochettino. On 23 April 2022, following the home draw against Lens, in which Messi also scores a goal, and with a thirteen-point lead over Marseille four days from the end, he wins the first French championship of his career.
Lionel Messi FC Barcelona
Messi arrives in Europe with his family, being added to the youth formations of the blaugrana and signing his first official contract on 1 March 2001. The arrival in Spain is also facilitated by the fact that Messi had cousins in Lleida, in Catalonia. He began his career with Barcelona at the age of 13, playing in the Infantil B, Infantil A and Cadete A categories between 2000 and 2003, scoring a total of 61 goals in 45 games. At the age of 14, he is reported by Renato Favero, observer in Argentina of Enrico Preziosi ‘s Como: Messi’s price tag costs $50,000, but Preziosi decides not to bet on him as he is “young and a little frail”. He is then aggregated to the third team, Barcelona C, playing in the fourth Spanish category.
He made his debut in official matches on 29 November 2003, in the home match against CE Europa, which finished 2-1 in favor of the hosts. On 4 January 2004, at Gramenet B, the first official goal of his career arrived, together with his first personal hat-trick, which decided the match 3-2. On the 17th of the same month he decided the internal challenge against Palafrugell with a goal, finished 2-1. The following 8 February, in the match at Badalona, which ended in a 1-1 draw, he scored his 5th and last goal for the team, before moving on to the second team, Barcelona B, in March. He ends his first career experience with 10 appearances and 5 goals. He made his debut in Barcelona B, playing in the third tier of the Spanish championship, on 6 March 2004 in the home match against Mataró, which ended with a score of 1-0. He ends this first short season with the new team totaling 5 appearances.
The following season, after 7 appearances and 2 goals, he made his first team debut against Espanyol on 16 October 2004, making him the third youngest player to wear the Barcelona shirt and the youngest to make his debut in La Liga (a record broken only by former teammate Bojan Krkić in September 2007). The following 7 December, he made his Champions League debut, in a 2–0 away defeat against Šachtar.
After extending his contract with Barcelona, with a professional engagement, on 25 September 2005 he obtained Spanish citizenship and had the opportunity to play regularly in La Liga, when previously the achievement of the quota of non-EU citizens in the starting team had often prevented him.
He ended the season prematurely due to an injury suffered in March 2006, but still scored 8 goals overall, providing excellent performances even in difficult matches such as those against Real Madrid in the league and Chelsea in the Champions League. Barcelona are champions of Spain and Europe.
