How Lionel Messi Overcame a Rare Disease to Become the Best Footballer (Spoiler: Thanks Grandma!)

Even if you are not a football fan, you know exactly who Lionel Messi is. The Barcelona and Argentina star has captivated the public with his football prowess for years, and women melt when they learn about his impeccable reputation and happy personal life. Lionel is married Antonelle Roccuzzo: they have been together since 2008 (and have known each other since childhood) and have three sons.

We tell how Messi was able to behave as a footballer and as a family man and as a good person.

Lionel Andres Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. The boy comes from a simple family: his father worked in a steel mill, and his mother worked in a magnet workshop.

Messi started playing football at the age of 4. Interestingly, Lionel grew up as a sickly child – some adults would care about their child’s health and protect him from being overworked, but the boy’s grandmother had a different opinion. Despite all the obstacles, she continued to take her grandson to training. Of course, no special consideration was given to the weak athlete, but thanks to her perseverance, Messi not only strengthened, but also remained in the team.

Of course, when Lionel became a professional footballer, he didn’t forget who he owed his future to. Thus appeared Messi’s trademark – raising his hands to the sky after the goals he scored – in honor of his late grandmother. The athlete also got a tattoo of his beloved old lady.

Messi grew up as a very shy boy. So much so that the other players on the team thought he was dumb. But as they say, in a still puddle… Quiet in life he scored some pretty telling goals.

The coaches understood: this boy would go far. But at the age of 11, Lionel’s dreams collapsed overnight: doctors gave him an unsatisfactory diagnosis – growth hormone deficiency.

Messi was behind his peers in height, so he had to work twice as hard to prove that it was not about size and his height was not an obstacle to perfect technique.

The coaches shrugged their shoulders helplessly, but a miracle happened: the boy was noticed by representatives of the Barcelona football club, who not only paid for the expensive treatment of the promising Messi, but made an exception by taking the boy to the team from abroad. This credit of trust changed Lionel’s life forever (I’m in tears, tell me?).

Barcelona became Messi’s home for many, many years to come. Together with the club, he won 10 Spanish titles, became the best scorer in the history of Barcelona and the national team of Argentina, and also won the Golden Ball award (Oscar in the world of football) 7 times. Needless to say, today Lionel is one of the highest paid athletes on the planet.

As we wrote above, the footballer married his childhood friend Antonella Roccuzzo, whom he has known since the age of five. The interesting thing is that the lovers have been together since 2008, but they decided to legalize their relationship only in 2017 – at that time they were already parents twice.

In total, the couple are raising three sons – Thiago, Kira and Mateo. Messi admitted that fatherhood has significantly changed his outlook on life and he has also grown as a person. I wonder which of the boys will follow in their father’s footsteps?

Messi is a great footballer and a wonderful loyal family man. And there should be a catch, but there isn’t. Lionel is also a kind person.

The athlete is a philanthropist: he actively helps people around the world in various issues. Lionel is a current goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the founder of his own charitable foundation that invests in the development of children’s medicine.

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