Lionel Messi
EARLY
LIFE
Lionel Andrรฉs Messi Cuccittini was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, the third of the four children of Jorge Messi, a steel
factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet
manufacturing workshop. Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving
family, "Leo" developed a passion for the sport from an early age,
playing constantly with his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matรญas, and his
cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel
Biancucchi, both of whom became professional
footballers. At
the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). This
was a condition that stunted growth and required expensive medical treatment,
including the use of the drug Human growth hormone.
His local club, River Plate was interested in
signing Messi but didn’t want to pay for his medical treatment. However, Messi
was given a trial with Barcelona, and coach Carles Rexach was impressed –
offering Messi a contract (written on a paper napkin!) which included paying
for Messi’s treatment in Spain. Messi moved to Barcelona with his father and
became part of the prestigious FC Barcelona youth academy.
PROFESSIONAL LIFE
Messi progressed through the ranks and was given his first appearance in
the 2004/05 season becoming the youngest player to score a league goal. In
2006, Messi was part of the double winning team which won both La Liga (Spanish
League) and Champions League. By next season, (2006-07) aged just 20; Messi was
the first choice striker and an essential part of the Barcelona team – scoring
14 goals in 26 league games.
In the 2009-10 season, Messi scored 47 goals
in all competitions, equalling Ronaldo’s record total for Barcelona. As the
seasons have progressed, Messi kept improving and breaking his own records. In
the calendar year of 2012, he broke the all-time world record for most goals
scored in a calendar year. His final total of goals in 2012 was 91 – beating
the previous record of 85 by German Gerd Muller, and Pele’s milestone of 75 in
1958. At the end of 2012, Messi turned down a
very lucrative offer to play for an unnamed Russian side. It would have given
Messi a salary of €20 million a year and made Messi the most expensive player
in the world (Barcelona would have been paid €250 million). He turned down the
offer because he was unsure if he would be playing in major European
championships and the difficulties in moving to Russia. Instead, he signed a
contract with Barcelona until the end of 2018. When asked about moving to the
English Premier League, Messi revealed his sense of commitment to Barcelona.
INTERNATIONAL CAREER
Because
Messi was brought up in Spain, since he was 11 years old, he has Spanish
nationality. In 2004, he was offered the chance to play for Spain’s Under 20
side, but Messi decided to play for Argentina, the country of his birth. He led
Argentina to victory in the 2005 FIFA Youth Championship. Messi made his full
international debut in August 2005, during a friendly against Hungary. In his
first game, Messi was sent off for allegedly elbowing a player. The decision
was contentious and not in keeping with Messi’s style of play which is
generally clean and in the spirit of fair play; he has very rarely been accused
of diving. In 2006, he participated in the World Cup, becoming Argentina’s
youngest player to play in the world cup. Argentina were eliminated in the
quarter-finals. In 2008, he won an Olympic gold medal for Argentina in football
at the Beijing Olympics. Initially, Barcelona had not allowed him permission to
play, but new coach Pep Guardiola allowed him time off. In the 2010 World Cup,
Messi wore the number 10 shirt and played well to help Argentina reach the
quarter-finals, but Messi struggled to score, and Argentina disappointingly
lost 4-0 to Germany in the quarter-final. Messi has admitted he is desperate to
play in a world cup final. Success for Messi in the World Cup would be the last
test of greatness. Pele, by contrast, was part of Brazil’s three times
winning World Cup side ’58, ’62 and ’70.
PRIVATE LIFE
Since 2008, Messi has been in a relationship
with Antonella Roccuzzo, a fellow native of Rosario. He has known Roccuzzo since he was five years old,
as she is the cousin of his best friend since childhood, Lucas
Scaglia, who is also a football player. After
keeping their relationship private for a year, Messi first confirmed their romance
in an interview in January 2009, before going public a month later during a
carnival in Sitges after the
Barcelona–Espanyol derby. On 30 June 2017, he married Roccuzzo at a luxury
hotel named Hotel City Center in Rosario with about 260 guests attending his
wedding . Messi and Roccuzzo have three sons: Thiago (born 2012), Mateo (born
2015) and Ciro (born 2018).
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