Lionel Messi is 37 years old. By human standards, his life is just beginning. But the football career - ends, and the World Cup that ended yesterday for this football star was definitely the last. Lionel Messi retires incredibly beautifully, with the gold cup of the Mundial. Today Argentina loves him. Winners are loved by everyone. But for many years his homeland considered him a European, detached from his roots, who is able to bring the joy of victory only to the fans of Barcelona, who raised him. Although Messi himself, a man who usually ignores the haters, once said: "Argentina is my homeland, my family. I would trade all my records to make people in my country happy’.
Champion of everything
Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini, the playing number 10 who inherited it from the illustrious Diego Maradona, holder of all sorts of records and titles, defended Argentina's honour in the national team four times. And in the fifth fate finally paid tribute to one of the greatest footballers in history. In the final match of the 2022 World Cup, on 18 December, Messi played one of the best games of his career and scored three goals against France. Both teams were competing for the World Cup title for the third time. But there is only one winner, and it was Argentina.
In addition, Lionel Messi is the top scorer in the history of the Spanish championship, Barcelona and the national team of Argentina. Recognised as one of the best footballers of all time. Seven times winner of the Ballon d'Or, six times winner of the Golden Boot. Raised in the Barcelona academy, together with this club he won ten Spanish league titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues, seven Spanish Cups, eight Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and three World Club Championships. French champion and French Super Cup winner with Paris Saint-Germain.
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The birth of a legend
Lionel ‘Leo’ Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in the Argentine city of Rosario. His father - Jorge Horacio Messi - was a worker at a steel mill, and his mother - Celia Maria Kuchchittini - was privately engaged in cleaning, and the rest of the time brought up four children: the footballer has two older brothers - Rodrigo and Matias, as well as a sister, Maria Sol. His father's family comes from the Italian town of Recanati, from where his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883, and his other ancestors were from Catalonia. At school, the future footballer studied very average, and most of all liked physical education and music lessons. Now in the school where he studied, created his museum. He himself, becoming a professional footballer, bought furniture, computers and textbooks for his native walls.
Messi started playing football at the age of five, at the children's club Grandoli. The team's football pitch was far away from Messi's family home, and he was taken to his first lessons by his grandmother Celia. She really wanted her grandson to become a footballer. Grandmother died when Leo was 11 years old, subsequently most of his goals Lionel dedicated to her and, scoring, raised to the sky two index fingers.
With Lionel's arrival, the Grandoli began to win more often. Messi would receive the ball and speed around opponents, he did not pass to teammates, preferring to score on his own. Outside the field players of rival teams often threatened to beat Messi, as a result, he was escorted to the games by his older cousins - also footballers.
When the boy was seven years old, his father as a legal representative signed Lionel's contract with Newells Old Boys - the first contract in his life. From 1994 to 2000, Messi scored over 500 goals for the club.
When the young athlete was 10 years old, he was diagnosed with somatotropin growth hormone deficiency. At that time, his height was 127 cm and his weight was about 30kg. The examination was lengthy and stretched for six months, eventually he was prescribed regular injections. The treatment was costly, and for his poor family it was fabulous. The family's savings and insurance payments covered only two years of therapy, and he needed at least three. Jorge Messi, Lionel's father, applied to Newell's Old Boys for a loan, but they were only given a miserable 400 pesos, while the treatment cost 1,000 pesos a month. The family already realised that their son could have a great future and they were going to bat for his health.
A club called River Plate was interested in the talented child, but due to the Argentine economic crisis, neither had the money to pay for the treatment of this football nugget.
Participation in the national team of Argentina
On 26 September 2005, Messi received Spanish nationality, while retaining Argentine citizenship. Spain offered him to represent the country in international matches, but the Argentine opted in favour of his homeland. He made his debut at the 2006 World Cup. The attitude towards him from his compatriots was far from unequivocal. He even decided to leave the national team, which he announced in 2017. After that, Argentina started a campaign aimed at his return to the national team. Argentine President Mauricio Macri also urged Messi not to leave, saying: ‘We are lucky, it is one of the joys of life, it is a gift from God to have the best player in the world in a football country like ours’.
Buenos Aires head of government Horacio Rodriguez Larreta even unveiled a monument to Messi in the city to persuade him to reconsider leaving the team. In addition, various requests for a return to the national team from fans were also published on social media. In the end, Messi decided to return and made an appearance at the 2018 World Cup.
Footballer and person
Throughout Lionel Messi's career, he was compared to his compatriot Diego Maradona because of his similar style of play, plus they both played at number 10. In human terms, Messi is the opposite of his predecessor: Maradona was a provocative and controversial character, while Messi is reserved and modest, not involved in scandals and his actions outside of football are not the subject of debate.
Messi has been in a relationship with Antonella Rocuzzo since 2008. They grew up together in Rosario and have known each other since they were five years old, Rocuzzo is the cousin of Messi's childhood best friend, Lucas Scaglia, also a footballer. Messi and Rocuzzo had a son, Thiago, on 2 November 2012. Messi tattooed the firstborn's name on his left shin. On 11 September 2015, the couple had a second son, Mateo. On 10 March 2018, a third son, Ciro, was born. For a long time Messi and Rocuzzo lived in an informal marriage, the official wedding took place only on 30 June 2017 in a Rosario hotel.
Leo maintains a close relationship with his immediate family, especially his mother Celia, whose face he has tattooed on his left shoulder. Family members are also involved in Messi's own career: his father Jorge, since the age of 14 Leo has worked as his agent, protecting his son's interests, while his older brother Rodrigo is in charge of routines and publicity. His mother and another brother Matias run Messi's charity organisation and also run his business in Rosario.
Throughout his career, Lionel Messi has taken part in charity events to help children, partly due to the difficulties he himself faced as a child. Since 2004, Messi has put money into the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). In 2012, Messi fully paid for the treatment of a 12-year-old Moroccan who wanted to become a footballer but was unable to do so due to a growth hormone deficiency.
In addition to working with UNICEF, Lionel also founded his own charity in 2007, the Leo Messi Foundation, which helps children receive medical care and education. Messi founded the foundation after visiting a clinic for terminally ill children in Boston, it was then that he decided to give a portion of his earnings to charity. Through his foundation, he has provided research grants, funded the training of medical professionals and invested in the development of medical centres in Argentina, Spain and other countries around the world.
Messi has been one of the highest paid footballers in the world since 2008. In 2020, Messi became the second footballer and second athlete in a team sport after Cristiano Ronaldo to earn over one billion dollars during his career. In addition to salary and bonuses, a significant portion of Messi's income is from a large number of advertising contracts.
It's too early to say what will happen when Lionel Messi decides to end his football career. But we can rejoice that the title of world champion went to an athlete who deserved it perhaps more than anyone else.