With an illustrious career and the highlight of the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi has officially entered the list of the greatest players of the football village.
Lionel Messi and the Argentina team had a memorable journey at the 2022 World Cup. With an illustrious career and the highlight of the 2022 World Cup gold cup, Lionel Messi has officially completed his collection of titles, comparable on par with many world football legends.

The lucrative advertising contracts, the praises of global fans are what Messi deserves after his journey to the top football competition. However, to reach the peak of his career today, Messi also had to go through a childhood of eating and sleeping with football, as well as a lot of pain when fighting a congenital disease to nurture his dream with a soccer ball.

Fierce childhood of legend
Messi (SN 1987) is from Rosario – the third largest city in Argentina. Since childhood, Messi was known as a gentle and quiet boy. Messi’s primary school teacher said he used to be so shy that he did not dare to talk to the girl sitting behind him.

That childhood friend, Cintia Arellano, is currently a teacher for poor students in Rosario. Remembering her friend Messi, Cintia Arellano said: “During the test, he often kicked the chair, stuck a piece of paper in his hand so I could copy the answer.”

According to a share from a primary school teacher, Messi has an average education but has a special passion for the ball: “Messi is a quiet kid, but when it comes to football, his attitude will be different. Messi always has something different when it’s time to take a break and play.”

After completing elementary school, his family moved to Barcelona city (Spain) to live, at the invitation of FC Barcelona. Here, Messi both practiced at the famous La Masia football training academy and studied at Leon XIII School (Leon XIII school). He was a classmate of two other famous Spanish footballers, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique.

Messi once shared about the first days of moving to a new city: “As soon as I got acquainted with Barcelona, I started to practice football. I did not sleep in La Masia, but would go to Leon XIII school – where all Even kids from other cities attend. I spend every afternoon every day with those kids. They understand what it’s like to live away from my family and friends.”

Day after day, the childhood of the legendary Lionel Mess was the days running back and forth between practice and school. It can be said that, for children who define professional football as Lionel Mess, studying and taking tests are still the most important tasks that need to be completed before dreaming of the World Cup gold trophy.

The awareness of the importance of education is also expressed when Messi assumes the role of a father. Whenever he moves to a new city in his professional football career, one of the first things Messi does is to find the best educational schools for his three sons.

Returning to Messi’s hometown in Argentina, the corner of the sports field where Messi used to play with the neighborhood boys, where he scored his first goal, has become a hit venue. Artists painted scenes from Messi’s life on the walls around it.

This house on Estado de Israel street, number 525, suburb of Rosario, is still owned by the Messi family, but his family has moved to a more upscale place in the city. Everything in the house is kept by Messi, added with security cameras, and every day someone comes to clean it.

Deciding to change your life at the age of 13
The childhood of “legend” Lionel Messi was not as calm as many other children. His family soon discovered that his son had a growth hormone disorder, causing Messi’s body to develop more slowly than our friends. From the age of 8, Messi began to undergo a series of hormone injections, supplementing the lack of substances in the body. Messi’s family is not well off, while the monthly treatment cost for the son is relatively expensive.

It was not until later that Newell’s Old Boys Club – the first team that Messi played in his childhood offered to help his family pay for the treatment. Since then, his family has been relieved of a financial burden.

And in 2001, the Barcelona club appeared, asking Messi to become a member of the team. This club not only accepts to bring the whole family to Barcelona (Spain), but also pays the entire amount money to treat Messi’s illness. Thanks to that, Messi can not only focus on playing football when his family is around, but his height is also significantly increased.

However, the new life of the Messi family in Spain is not calm. Although they loved their son very much, because they could not adapt to life in the city of Barcelona, the family moved back to their hometown of Argentina.

At that time, only Jorge Messi and his 13-year-old son Messi remained in Barcelona. Jorge Messi himself was also disoriented. He asked Messi: “What should we do now?” Despite his young age, Messi realized that the opportunity to play at Barcelona could completely change his life. Therefore, he firmly told his father: “I want to stay”.

At the age of 16, Messi made his first-team debut at Barcelona and scored his first goal shortly after. While playing in the blood of Barcelona, Messi not only became a “legend” with a brilliant performance but also brought many lucrative contracts for the Spanish team.

Currently at the age of 36, he has soon become one of the best players in the world, achieving all the records of the king sport. And it won’t be necessary to say much about the name Lionel Messi when just the World Cup trophy has made the whole world have to mention him a lot today and forever.