Lionel Messi

Messi has had quite a couple of romantic associations before he got steady with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo. He was first linked with Macarena Lemos, a female from his hometown Rosario, whom Messi was introduced to by the former’s father while he was recovering from his injury before the 2006 World Cup. He is even said to have shared a love bond with Argentine glamour model Luciana Salazar.

Messi was first seen with his wife Roccuzzo at a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. A fellow native of Rosario, Roccuzzo gave birth to their first child, Thiago on November 2, 2012 and second child Mateo, on September 11, 2015.

After several years of being in a relationship with Roccuzzo, he married her on 30 June 2017. Their wedding was held at a luxury hotel named Hotel City Center in Rosario.

Lionel Messi was born to Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini in Rosario, Santa Fe Province. He has three siblings, two elder brothers Rodrigo and Matias, and a sister, Maria Sol. His father was a factory steel worker and his mother was employed as a part-time cleaner.

At the age of five, Messi started playing for the Grandoli, a local club coached by his father. By the time he turned eight, he was playing for Newell’s Old Boys. The group was immensely talented, which is visible from the fact that they lost just a single match in the next four years. It was their sheer interest and talent for the game that made the group popularly known as ‘The Machine of '87’

Unfortunately, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency when he was eleven. Despite being immensely talented, he was not offered help by the local clubs, who were not willing to pay for his treatment.

It was at this juncture that Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, came to his aid. He promised to offer help to Messi by paying for his medical bills only if the latter moved to Spain. Messi was enrolled at the Barcelona’s youth academy.

Messi’s career kickstarted in the year 2000 when he played for the junior system ranks. Within a short span, he became the only player to play for five different teams.

His excellence at the game was visible from the fact that Messi quickly moved through the junior system ranks to make a league debut on October 16, 2004 against RCD Espanyol.

His first goal came the following year on May 1, 2005 against Albacete. He created history by being the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for Barcelona.

He received Spanish citizenship in September 2005, which finally made it possible for Messi to make a debut in the Championship League.

Messi’s first outing at the Champions League was against Italian club Udinese. Though he entered the field as a substitute, he played amazing soccer with Ronaldinho, the two sharing good chemistry over passing and receiving the ball.

Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children in 2007. This was in response to Messi’s own medical ailments that he faced as a child. The foundation works towards providing children diagnosed with illnesses treatment in Spain funds covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs. Most of the funds collected by the organization is through Messi’s own effort with a little aid by Herbalife.

Messi was the goodwill ambassador for UNICEF in 2010. He worked towards supporting children’s rights

In 2013, Messi donated a sum of €600,000 for the restoration of a children's hospital by the name Victor J Vilela Children's Hospital, in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina. The donated amount was basically used in restoring the oncology unit of the hospital and paying for doctors to travel to Barcelona for training.