Lionel Messi and his wife Antonela Roccuzzo are said to be childhood sweethearts. It is common knowledge that the couple has known each other for a while and had eyes only for each other. However, that was proven false a few years ago when an unnamed ex of Antonela stated about their relationship.
Messi and Antonela did know each other from childhood. According to AS, a 9-year-old Messi had written to an 8-year-old Antonela that they would be in a relationship in the future. However, Messi’s soccer future was more important in his childhood days and he had to leave for Barcelona, Spain. At an early age, Messi left his hometown of Rosario, Argentina, to move to Spain and play for the club of his dreams.
AS further stated that after Messi’s move, his relationship with Antonela became platonic. She started dating another boy at that point in time. However, when Antonela found out that Messi was returning to Argentina, she terminated her relationship with her unnamed ex.
The ex got over the breakup in a rather philosophical fashion as he was quoted saying, “She dumped me, but at least she didn’t leave me for any old bloke – she dumped me for Messi…” He said this to a local newspaper in 2010.
According to another unnamed source, it was revealed that Messi and Antonela began dating again in 2007. When Antonela met her friends on ‘Friendship Day’ on July 20, 2007, her friend deciphered her relationship status.
“We met as we always had done and she took out a Blackberry phone which Leo had given her. She didn’t say anything else, but we all guessed that they had started seeing each other,” Antonela’s friend said.
10 years later, the couple tied the knot. Messi and Antonela have gone through it all together since then.
Lionel Messi and Antonela Roccuzzo tied the knot in 2017
Apparently, Lionel Messi had traveled to Argentina to comfort Antonela as her best friend had died in a car accident. This also turned out to be a major point in their relationship as the pair reconnected here. Since then, they have not looked back. It was becoming common knowledge that Messi is dating Antonela around 2009 and 2010. However, it became clear after Messi announced their pregnancy with a goal against Ecuador in 2012.
The couple has three children. They welcomed their first son, Thiago in 2012. In 2015, their second son, Mateo, was born. The next milestone in their life was their wedding. The couple tied the knot in July 2017. This was a few months before they welcomed their third son, Ciro, in 2018.
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Messi and Antonela have lived through various ups and downs in their lives. However, Messi has always had words of love for Antonela. In an October 2019 interview with MARCA, he said, “The truth is that [I admire] everything [about Antonela. She has many good qualities: how she gets by on a daily basis; her personality; she is always in a good mood; and she always faces up to problems in an admirable way. She is a very intelligent person who is great in all aspects of life.”
Messi’s latest milestone, the FIFA World Cup 2022, was celebrated by him and his family. They were all on the field with the Argentine great and Messi posted his whole family with pride on social media.