Lionel Messi-Antonela Roccuzzo’s love story: A timeline of the power couple’s relationship |
Lionel Messi rounded off another tremendously successful year as he led Inter Miami CF to secure their first MLS Cup victory on Saturday, Dec. 6, with a 3–1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Chase Stadium. Beyond his professional success, which has always been celebrated, his personal life is even more fascinating. The Argentine football star is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, and his love story with wife Antonela Roccuzzo is straight out of a fairytale. From being hometown sweethearts to becoming a power couple, they share one of the greatest love stories ever.
They first met as children
The story began long before they had realised it. Antonela Roccuzzo met Messi as a young girl in their hometown, Rosario, Argentina, according to Vanity Fair España. He was just five. She was the cousin of Messi’s best friend, Lucas Scaglia, who also played football on a youth team. Her charm grabbed Messi’s attention from the time they met. In fact, he started spending more time with the Scaglia family to be closer to her. The stage for romance was set long before fame, fortune and global stardom. They were too young to understand that there was something special about their connection. Neither could have predicted where it would lead.
Time apart
When Messi moved to Barcelona at the age of 13 to join the La Masia academy, the two lost regular contact. Roccuzzo stayed in Argentina, studying humanities and social sciences. In 2005, they eventually reconnected, as Roccuzzo lost a close friend in a car accident. Messi returned to Rosario to comfort her. This was a significant moment in their relationship.
They went public in 2009
After reconnecting, their relationship strengthened. In 2009, well before their children or wedding, Messi publicly confirmed his relationship with Roccuzzo for the first time. During the football chat show Hat Trick Barça on the Catalan channel TV3 in January 2009, he was asked if he was in a relationship. “Yes, I have a girlfriend. She is in Argentina. The truth is that I am well and I am relaxed,” Messi said. The couple started making public appearances after that.
A family
In Nov. 2012, the couple welcomed their first son, Thiago. “He’s the most important thing to me now. My life has changed a lot, in many ways. He comes before everything else. Now the way I see things has changed. I have different priorities,” Messi said in an interview with El Periódico de Catalunya. Their second son, Mateo, arrived in Sept. 2015.
The wedding of the century
On June 30, 2017, Messi and Antonela finally tied the knot in a lavish wedding dubbed “the wedding of the century” in Argentina. Life came full circle, as the childhood sweethearts exchanged vows in their hometown, attended by several football stars, including former Spanish pro player Gerard Piqué and his then partner, Shakira. Talking about his wife, Messi earlier said, “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.” In 2018, the couple welcomed their third son, Ciro. The childhood sweethearts who once exchanged innocent love letters found their forever in each other. Today, even as he climbs new professional heights, he knows his greatest win is finding true love in Roccuzzo, the woman who stood by him long before the world knew his name.
