World Cup: Family is Lionel Messi’s biggest support

One of the best players in the world, Argentine Lionel Messi, 35, would not have come this far in his career and won this Sunday (18) the third championship for Argentina, in the World Cup in Qatar, without the support of his family.

Deficient in growth hormone, he moved to Spain at the age of 12 with his whole family to join the youth team at Barcelona–who undertook to pay for Messi’s expensive treatment. The player’s father, who was unemployed, also saw an opportunity to get a job and escape the economic crisis.

Despite the distance, Messi never forgot his childhood friend, Antonella Roccuzzo, who would become his wife years later. According to Argentine newspapers, he wrote letters saying that she would be his girlfriend one day – they met when he was 9 years old, in the city of Rosario, Argentina.

The two were reunited years later due to the tragic death of a friend of Antonella’s. He, who was emerging as one of the biggest promises in football, traveled to Argentina to console Antonella. After that, they began to meet and started a long-distance relationship between 2007 and 2009.

The couple publicly assumed the relationship in 2010 when he was already considered the best player in the world. Two years later, the couple’s first child, Thiago, 10, was born. Three years later, Mateo, 7, was born. The couple’s youngest, Ciro, is 4.

This Sunday, the player’s wife and children, all wearing the number 10 shirt, were present at the stadium giving unconditional support to the player. For Argentine fans, Antonella was a kind of lucky charm and some call her a “saint”.

Several publications on social networks extol the importance of Antonella in all the games of the Argentine national team in the Qatar Cup. This Sunday was no different and, after the victory, she shared a photo on Instagram with her husband, children and the World Cup cup.

“World Champions. I don’t even know how to start… how proud we are of you Leo Messi”, he wrote in the caption.