Our biography of Lionel Messi shares details about his childhood, early life, family, parents, wife, children, net worth, lifestyle, and personal life. In summary, we highlight significant events in Leo’s journey to fame, starting from his early days to when he became a renowned football star. To give you a glimpse of what to expect from our autobiography, here is a timeline of Lionel Messi’s life from infancy to success, providing a perfect summary of his biography.

We all know that Lionel Messi is often compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, and fans often debate about who is the greatest of all time in football. Despite all the accolades, there are only a few people who have heard a detailed yet summarized version of Lionel Messi’s life story. But worry not, as we have it all cooked up for you. So without further ado, let’s begin with the table of contents.

Firstly, we will take a look at Lionel Messi’s childhood story, followed by his family background and origin. Then we will delve into his untold biography, including his football story, who discovered his talent, and his early career with Newell’s Old Boys. We will also discuss how he coped with grief after the death of his grandmother and his struggle with disease.

Next up is the road to fame story, which includes the fascinating story of Lionel Messi’s napkin contract. We will also dive into his early life in Spain, medical treatment, farewell to best friends, and Olympic triumph. And of course, we cannot forget his love story with Antonella Roccuzzo, including her previous boyfriend before marrying Lionel Messi.

We will also take a look at Lionel Messi’s personal life, lifestyle facts, and family life, including his father, mother, brothers, sister, cousins, aunts, and nephews. Lastly, we will explore his grandparents and great-grandparents.

To start our biography, Lionel Messi was born on June 24th, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. His mother is Celia Maria Cuccittini, and his father is Jorge Horacio Messi. He is often referred to as the greatest of all time or the GOAT in football circles.

If you’re not aware, Lionel Messi is the third child of his parents, who worked in a steel factory and a magnet manufacturing workshop in Argentina. He grew up in Rosario, the largest city in the Santa Fe province of central Argentina, alongside his three siblings. Rodrigo is his eldest brother, and Matias is his immediate senior. Finally, his younger sister is Maria Sol Messi.

Lionel Messi’s Family Background: Growing up in a close-knit family that loved football, Barcelona’s iconic player comes from humble beginnings. In the late 1980s, his parents, Jorge and Celia Maria, faced financial difficulties due to the economic downturn in Argentina. Despite the challenges, they remained committed to providing for their family.

A couple of years after Lionel Messi’s birth, Argentina was on the verge of an economic collapse due to its inability to pay off its debt. This led to hyperinflation, devaluation of the Peso, and riots becoming a common occurrence. The economic crisis affected almost all middle-class households, including Messi’s family, who struggled to make ends meet like three million other Argentines. Interestingly, Messi’s family has more European roots than Argentine roots. This is because his grandparents, Antonio, Celia-Olivera, Rosa Maria, and Eusebio, are not from South America.

Messi comes from a mixed Italian and Spanish background on his father’s side, with his paternal grandparents, Eusebio Messi and Rosa Maria Perez, having immigrated to Argentina from the north-central Adriatic Marche region of Italy and Catalonia. On the other hand, he has solely Italian ancestry from his mother’s side, with his maternal grandparents, Antonio and Celia Oliveira Cuccittini, being of Italian origin. Growing up in a close-knit family that loved football, Messi developed a passion for the sport from an early age and played constantly with his older brothers and cousins, who later became professional footballers. Messi’s talent was first noticed by his grandmother, Celia Oliveira Cuccittini, when he was just four years old, and she saw in him the makings of a football star, which even surpassed his elder brothers’ coaching.

Celia Oliveira Cuccittini was the only family member who believed in Messi’s potential as a football player. She personally took him to his first football training session and even goaded him with words of encouragement. Not only did she persuade Messi’s parents to buy him his first pair of football boots, but she also convinced the local club coach to include him in the match squad.

One day, Messi and his family watched a match where a group of boys – a little older than him – played. His entire household was there to watch two other boys, Rodrigo and Matias, but not Lionel. However, Coach Salvador Aparicio noticed that he was short one player and convinced Messi to join in. Despite initially letting the ball pass him, Messi quickly showed his brilliance by dribbling past everyone, including his older brothers.

From that moment on, he became an instrumental part of Aparicio’s team and helped them win their first-ever trophy. Thus began the journey of the Atomic Flea, holding the first honor to his name. Thanks to his grandmother’s support, Messi’s talent was recognized and developed at a young age.

Beginning Career with Newell’s Old Boys: A coach named Aparicio, who believed in Messi’s supernatural talents, promised to bring him to a bigger academy to nurture the local kid into a legend. During that time, Lionel’s father, Jorge, took it upon himself to become his trainer as a way of providing pastoral care for his son.

Messi has been a loyal supporter of Newell’s Old Boys since he was six years old, along with his family. Unfortunately, when he was trying to settle with the club, his grandmother Celia Oliveira Cuccitini passed away. It’s important to note that she was the one who discovered his talent. Dealing with her loss was difficult for Messi, as she fought her way to get him into football. Her death occurred shortly before his eleventh birthday. As a tribute to his grandmother, he began celebrating his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky. During the six years he played for Newell’s, he almost scored 500 goals. Messi was part of a group of boys called “The Machine of ’87,” a nearly unbeatable youth team whose nickname came from their year of birth – 1987.

The group of boys was well-known for entertaining crowds with their ball tricks during the halftime of their team’s home games. Presently, the Machine of 87 still has a WhatsApp group and Lionell as their leader.

Lionel Messi’s Disease Story: When Lionel’s grandmother passed away, he stopped growing, and his future as a professional player was in danger. Even Newell’s coaching staff and his family were worried about his stunted growth, as Lionel looked like a dwarf compared to his teammates of the same age group.

Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency disease that restricted his growth. His dad struggled to pay for his continuous medical bills as his health insurance could only cover two years of growth hormone treatment, which cost around $1,000 per month. Newell’s offered to contribute but later abandoned their promise to poor Messi. However, Messi’s paternal grandparents living in Catalonia managed to source treatment for him with FC Barcelona. At the age of 13, FC Barcelona offered to cover Messi’s medical bills after his paternal grandparents convinced a prominent member of the club’s management. At first, it was FC Barca’s team director who pushed to sign him, but the Barcelona board of directors refused because soccer rules didn’t permit European clubs to sign foreign players of Leo’s age. On December 14, 2000, Newell’s Old Boys issued an ultimatum for Barcelona to prove their commitment to Messi or else risk losing him. On that fateful day, Carles Rexach signed Lionel Messi’s contract on a napkin while rushing to meet the deadline.

Early Years in Spain: In February of 2001, Lionel Messi’s family made the move across the Atlantic to start a new life in Spain. They settled in an apartment near Camp Nou and lived there as a household. Unfortunately, Messi was unable to play with his FC Barca academy teammates during his first year due to a transfer conflict between Newell’s Old Boys and the Catalonia club.

Later on, Messi’s mother moved back to Rosario with Rodrigo, Matias, and Maria Sol, leaving Leo in Barcelona with his father and other distant relatives. It was during this time that he fell ill.

In February 2002, Messi finally received approval to join the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and play for La Masia, Barcelona’s renowned youth academy. He participated in all of their competitions and formed close relationships with his teammates, including Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique. After a year of waiting, Messi was thrilled to finally have the opportunity to showcase his skills and grow as a player within the prestigious academy.

After completing his growth hormone treatment at the age of 14, Lionel Messi became an integral part of Barcelona’s Baby Dream Team, which was considered their greatest-ever youth side. At the time, Messi had just started playing constantly and received an offer to join Arsenal, but he decided to remain in Barcelona. His friend Cesc Fabregas joined Arsenal while Gerard Pique left for Manchester United. However, Lionel refused to leave and remained in Barcelona. In 2005, Lionel announced his name to the world during the FIFA World Youth Championship, where he won the Golden Ball, Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold medal.

Returning to Barcelona, Lionel quickly progressed through the club’s ranks and caught the eye of Frank Rijkaard, who made him a regular member of the senior team. After his first training session with the big boys, Ronaldinho befriended Messi and called him “little brother,” which eased his transition into the first team. Lionel made his debut with FC Barcelona’s first team during a friendly against Jose Mourinho’s Porto, impressing sports writers and fans alike. Since then, Lionel has had many successful seasons, winning more than 34 trophies for Blaugrana.

Ever since he burst onto the scene, the renowned footballer has clinched the title of World Player of the Year an impressive six times. Lionel’s numerous magic moments, countless trophies, and prolific goal-scoring feats have earned him the title of Football’s GOAT. Along with Alexia Putellas, she now shares the distinction of having the most Ballon d’Ors in a Barcelona shirt for both male and female players. It’s safe to say that Lionel Messi is simply irreplaceable, and his legendary status will undoubtedly go down in history.

Lionel Messi’s love story with Antonela Roccuzzo is truly inspiring, as it was borne out of a childhood friendship that blossomed into something more. Growing up in Rosario, Argentina, Leo and Antonela naturally became inseparable, and in this section, we’ll delve into how their friendship evolved into a love story.

Leo and AntoneƖa, who are now married sweethearts, were introduced to each other by a childhood friend of Leo’s named Lᴜcas Scɑgliɑ, who happens to be AntoneƖa’s cousin. Lᴜcas and Leo are the same age and used to have fun playing on Rosario Beach when they were young. In 1992, during one of these childhood play days, Leo met his future wife AntoneƖa, and from that moment on, they promised to always be together, despite their young age. This story provides early evidence of the day that they may have first met.

Messi inquired about a girl on the first day of a meeting with his friend Lucas Scaglia, who identified her as his cousin. At the age of nine, Messi wrote a love letter to eight-year-old Antonella expressing his desire for them to be together in the future. Despite the belief among football fans that Messi and Antonella were childhood sweethearts, they actually had a brief breakup caused by distance when Antonella got involved with another boy during Messi’s treatment for growth hormone deficiency disease in Spain. The couple eventually reunited after Antonella gave up hope of being with Messi.

Leo reached out to his long-forgotten girlfriend after seven years of living in Spain with his parents. It’s interesting to note that Messi and Antonella’s relationship didn’t become serious until 2007, when she left her previous boyfriend, who was not well-off and spoke his mind freely. Surprisingly, Antonella’s ex-boyfriend took the breakup in stride and even spoke to a local Argentine newspaper, saying that he was happy she left him for no one but Lionel Messi. After two years of rekindling their romance, Messi made their relationship public. Three years later, the couple tied the knot on June 30, 2017, at a luxurious hotel in Rosario with about 260 guests in attendance, including both lovers’ parents and family members.

As I construct Lionel Messi’s biography, it’s important to note that he is a devoted family man and a proud father of three sons. Thiago Messi was born on November 2nd, 2012, followed by Mateo Messi on September 15th, 2015, and Ciro Messi on March 10th, 2018. It’s evident from his actions and behavior that Messi places great value on spending time with his family.

Lionel Messi, also known as the “GOAT,” is an individual who values the power of silence and dislikes noise. He is highly sensitive to his surroundings and prefers to live in a forested area located in a village near Barcelona’s busy city center. To eliminate any noise, he purchased all the nearby properties from his neighbors. This revelation was disclosed by one of his former teammates.

Did you know that airplanes are not allowed to fly over Lionel Messi’s house? This unique occurrence was the result of Messi raising a case against the Barcelona-El Prat airport, diverting their runway to avoid interrupting his siesta with plane noise. Aside from his on-pitch activities, Messi is also a loving father and husband who prefers to live a decent life in his mansions with his family and dog.

As far as our knowledge goes, it seems that the Argentine spends his money mainly on constructing large houses and purchasing automobiles. Lionel Messi, in particular, possesses several cars, including the notable Audi Q7 (priced at €69 million), Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti (€32 million), and Maserati GranTurismo worth around €90,000.

Lionel Messi values his roots in his hometown of Rosario, and even maintains his local accent despite his global fame. He has retained ownership of all of his family’s old homes, despite their worn-out condition, as a testament to his humble beginnings. Below are some interesting facts about his parents and extended family.

Jorge Horácio Messi, father of Lionel Messi, used to work as a manager at a steel factory while his son was growing up. However, he left his job to become his son’s coach when Lionel was only four years old at the local football club, Grandoli. Jorge has been by his son’s side through thick and thin and currently serves as his agent, a position he has held for many years. He played a crucial role in advising Lionel to stay in Barcelona to avoid legal disputes after his relationship with the club soured following the arrival of Ronald Koeman.

Jorge Horacio has done a great job managing his son’s empire so far. It is worth mentioning that Lionel Messi’s father is divorced, which means he is no longer with his wife, Celia Cuccittini.

Moving on to Lionel Messi’s mother, she is also known as Celia Maria Cuccittini and used to work part-time as a cleaner. Nowadays, she takes care of her son’s personal matters and manages the Messi charity foundation.

Leo has a strong bond with his mom, whose face he has tattooed on his left shoulder.

Lionel Messi’s mother, Celia Maria, caused some drama when she attended her son’s wedding wearing a white dress, which resembled the attire of the bride, Antonella Roccuzzo. This led to a disagreement as it is considered highly disrespectful in Argentina’s culture for anyone other than the bride to wear white during a wedding ceremony.

Although the building instructions for the event indicated that Celia’s dress should be “dark,” she went against Argentine traditions. This caused tension between her and the family of Antonella Roccuzzo and Leo, as they were not on speaking terms. As for Lionel Messi’s brother, his name is Rodrigo Messi.

The oldest sibling in the Messi family was born on February 10th, 1980 and is eight years older than the famous Barca player. His name is Rodrigo and like other members of the family, he plays an active role in managing Lionel’s professional business. Specifically, he handles Messi’s schedule and publicity on a daily basis. Another important member of the Messi family is Lionel’s brother, Matias.

Matias, the second oldest sibling in the Messi family, was born on February 10th, 1980. He assists his brother’s foundation, just like his mother Celia Maria. Unfortunately, he once made negative headlines when he was caught illegally possessing a firearm in 2016. As punishment, he was ordered by the authorities to teach football classes in his hometown for an entire year. Turning our attention to Lionel Messi’s sister, Maria Sol, there is no information provided in the given content.

There is a little-known fact about Lionel Messi’s family – he has only one sister, Maria Sol Messi. Growing up, Maria was treated like royalty by her elder brothers. It has been reported that she had never seen Lionel dance until he showed off his moves at her fifteenth birthday party. Maria now manages her brother’s store. Aside from his immediate family, Lionel also has a fourth cousin in the form of former teammate Bojan Krkic, as well as cousins Emanuel and Maxi Biancucchi. His aunts include Marcela Cuccittini Biancucchi, Gladis Messi, and Susanna Messi, while his nephews are Augustine, Morena, Benjamin, and Thomas Messi. Lionel’s grandparents are Rosa Maria Pérez and Eusebio Messi on his paternal side, and Antonio Cuccittini and Celia Oliveira Cuccittini on his maternal side. Finally, Jose Perez Sole is his mother’s great-grandfather.