10 Interesting Facts About Lionel Messi You Didn't Know Before

"The second (the ball) came to his left foot, he latched onto it, and he went past one guy, then another and another."

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Born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina (the city where Che Guevara was born), little Leo was more interested in playing with marbles than soccer. Soccer was not his cup of tea at that time. But he loved his brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, playing soccer for the local club Grandoli.

Eventually, at the age of three, little Leo decided to join in. As he was fast and could kick the ball hard, he soon became a popular face in the neighborhood matches.

When Leo was five, his grandmother spoke with Grandoli's soccer coach Ricardo Aparicio. She requested the coach to include Leo in the team ( as the team needed one more player). But Ricardo was unsure, seeing Leo's small stature.

Leo, as you all know, was small for his age, and the coach thought Leo might get hurt if he included him in the team. However, his grandmother convinced Ricardo to watch him play. She said, "Put him on and you'll see how well the little boy plays." The coach finally agreed, and it changed everything.

Ricardo was stunned by the little boy's performance and soon included him in the team.

The Grandoli coach later said, "The second (the ball) came to his left foot, he latched onto it, and he went past one guy, then another and another."

We know the rest, don't we?

The boy who suffered from growth hormone deficiency and countless health complications finally managed to outshine all the other soccer players in his era and beyond.

Now, let's explore a few facts about this greatest Argentine football player you probably didn't know before.

1. Reading and writing were tough for Leo, not "keepy uppy"

Leo found reading and writing extremely tough despite his hard work in school. As you might guess, his favorite subjects were art and gym. Moreover, he was a shy kid who didn't like to talk much. But he loved "keepy uppy."

Keepy-uppy is a game where you juggle the football in the air for as long as possible using your body parts (except the hands and arms) and do not let the ball touch the ground.

Leo was great at keepy-uppy.

When Leo was in Lepers in his early years, he would prepare himself for matches by doing tricks with the ball beforehand. Even during half-time breaks, he would perform keepy-uppy for crowds on his manager's request, and people cheered in the stands.

2. He had to inject himself with growth hormone for 3 years

On 31 January 1997, the nine-and-half years old Lionel Messi was brought to the consultation room of Doctor Diego Schwarsztein as his parents were worried about his limited growth.

After more than a year of regular appointments, rigorous investigation, tests, and biochemical analysis, Dr. Schwarsztein concluded that Leo's glands weren't making any growth hormone.

"…Messi's case is not very common: it affects one in every 20 million, according to statistics. And it's worth noting that it's not hereditary. Just look at Leo's brothers, or María Sol, his little sister, who is decidedly tall," the doctor added.

After identifying the problem, the treatment began; one subcutaneous injection every day for anywhere between three and six years until the patient has developed sufficiently.

So, for the following three years, Leo Messi had to inject human growth hormone into his legs every night. The treatment was also expensive for his family, costing $1,500 a month.

3. Messi has a secret love for milanesa a la napolitana

In the book, Messi: The Inside Story of a Boy Who Became a Legend, Leo's mother, Celia María Cuccittini, describes how much his son loves to eat milanesa a la napolitana (Milanesa Napolitana). It's an Argentine dish made of different ingredients, including ham, oregano, fried beef, chopped tomatoes, onions, salt cheese, and sugar.

Want the recipe for your favorite footballer's favorite dish? Why not take it from Leo's mother herself?

Here is how she makes it for Leo:

"I buy the rump or a piece from the hindquarter. They're cuts of beef I've also seen in Barcelona but I don't know what they're called. I put a bit of salt on each piece, dip them in egg and coat them in breadcrumbs. I fry them until they're nice and golden-brown and I put them in an oven dish. I slice the onion finely and fry it over. When the onion turns white, I add chopped tomatoes, a little water, salt, oregano and a pinch of sugar. And I leave it on the heat for around twenty minutes. Once the sauce is done, I pour it on top of each piece of beef, making sure they're well covered. I take some cream cheese or hard cheese out of the fridge and lay it on top of the beef in thin slices. I leave them in the oven until the cheese melts. All that's left to do is fry the potatoes as a side dish and the milanesa a la napolitana [schnitzel napolitana] is ready to serve.'

Leo's mother says that when she visits Barcelona, she has to make it two or three times a week. And with at least three medium-sized cuts of beef.

According to the book, Leo Messi has simple gastronomic tastes: schnitzel, but not made with ham or horsemeat; chicken with a sauce made of pepper, onions, tomatoes, and oregano.

He also loves chocolates and alfajores (traditional caramel-filled biscuits).

4. Messi signed his first-ever FC Barcelona Contract on a paper napkin

By the time Leo was eleven, his name had already reached the owners of the F.C. Barcelona soccer team in Spain. So the director, Carles Rexach, invited Leo's dad to bring him to Barcelona for a series of practice matches.

Leo and his father made the trip to Spain on September 17, 2000. While placed in a scrimmage, Leo scored five goals that impressed Rexach.

He told Leo and his dad that if Leo joined F.C. Barcelona, the club would pay for all his medication and the cost needed for the family to move to Spain.

But other Barca executives were skeptical about Messi's stature. In Luca Caoili's book, Rexach recalls the problems -

"First of all, he was foreign, and the law doesn't allow a foreign child to play in any national league. A considerable handicap. Second, he was a kid. He could end up not becoming a Barcelona player, whether due to his own choice, injury, or age. Third, what are his parents going to do? We'd have to find work for them if they moved to Across the pond 57 Spain. And finally, the boy has a growth problem, he needs treatment."

However, on December 4, 2000, football agent Minguella and the F.C.B. Director Rexach met in the restaurant of the Pompey Real Tennis Society, in Montjuïc.

Leo's agent Horacio Gaggioli was also there and insisted they make a written contract. He told Rexach, "Charly, we've got this far. Either you play him or the boy goes elsewhere …" He also added, "I wasn't bluffing. We had already begun talks with Real Madrid."

Rexach didn't want to let Lionel Messi slip through their fingers. So, he grabbed a paper napkin and "wrote something to the effect that the club promised to sign Leo Messi if the agreed conditions were met" and signed it.

Afterward, they had the paper napkin signed by Messi and his father.

Curious to know what was written on the napkin? Well, here you go -

"In Barcelona, on December 14 2000 and the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio (Gaggioli), Carles Rexach, Director of Football of F.C.B., hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon."

The paper napkin is still well-preserved and kept by Horacio Gaggioli.

5. Leo's first coach at Barcelona told others not to break small Leo

Lionel Messi was so small and fragile that his first coach at Barcelona, Rodolfo Borrell, told other players to be careful with him.

He said, "Be careful with him, he's very small, don't break him."

"We thought he was mute," Gerard Pique later recalled about those days. "He was short, he hardly said a word and no one could have imagined what was going to happen."

6. Leo was so shy that he couldn't ask for meat at the barbecue parties

As I've already mentioned, Messi was very shy since childhood, and he is still the same. He doesn't like to talk much (he rather let his legs talk for him, I guess). And he also prefers texts to phone calls.

According to one of his then-team-mates, "He had longish hair and spoke soft, quiet Argentinian so you could hardly hear him. In fact, he hardly spoke at all. He was a noodle. We thought this bloke is a waste of space."

As the book Messi by Luca Caoili describes, Messi was so shy that during his training in Madrid, when the whole squad had an exciting barbecue party, Leo was silent as usual. He didn't even ask for some meat.

Even during Christmas, when all the Argentine players would go over to visit the manager after spending time with their families, Messi wouldn't show up.

7. Messi was offered to play for Spain

Messi was offered the chance to play for the national team of Spain. He was asked to be included in the Spanish Under 20 team in 2004.

But Messi turned the offer down and patiently waited for the call from Argentina, the country he calls home and always wanted to play for.

"I would have never played for Spain. I'm Argentinian and no one and nothing can change what I feel for the Argentinian colours," Messi later explained.

8. Leo Messi is nicknamed "La Pulga Atomica"

Messi is known as GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). But do you know he is nicknamed 'La Pulga Atomica' by his fans?

'La Pulga Atomica' means The Atomic Flea in Spanish. His fans call him this because, like a flea, Leo is small and fast. He can squeeze into tight places, baffle the opponents with his tricky style and come out victorious.

Despite his diminutive stature, he always stands tall and strong.

"Leo simply goes one way with his body and another with the ball. You have to either guess right or foul him," said his Barca-teammate Gerard Piqué.

9. In 2010, Leo was named the goodwill ambassador for UNICEF

In March 2010, Leo was named the goodwill ambassador for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

As a goodwill ambassador, Lionel Messi visited different countries. He worked to improve the situation of the most vulnerable children and spread public awareness.

Apart from being the goodwill ambassador, Messi has his own charitable organization, the "Leo Messi Foundation," through which he invests in healthcare services to improve children's lives. In 2017, his foundation helped UNICEF get Syrian children back into the classroom.

Even during the Covid pandemic, Messi supported UNICEF's emergency response plan and helped raise funds. He also donated €1 Million to help in the fight against this deadly virus.

No doubt, the little flea has a huge heart.

10. His point-to-the-sky goal celebration has a touching reason

Whenever Lionel Messi scores a goal, he points toward heaven on his way back to restart the game. You've seen it many times, but have you ever wondered why Leo does it?

"I am doing this because I dedicate my goals to my grandmother. She took to me to football but now she can't see how far I have come. Nevertheless, she continues to help me and my family," Messi revealed a few years ago.

The grandmother who took little Leo to the Grandioli coach Ricardo Aparicio and said, "Put him on and you'll see how well the little boy plays"

Sadly, his grandmother died when he was only ten. But Leo never forgets what his grandmother did for him.

How touching, right?

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There is so much to tell about this great Argentine superstar who has already won the most Ballons d'Or in history yet continues to amaze the whole world with his incredible talent and loving personality.

But let's stop here today with the hope that Lionel Messi will bring his country the world cup this December, which has been due for too long.

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Let's read a few quotes on Lionel Messi -

• "I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius." - Diego Maradona
• "For me to watch Messi is a pleasure - it's like having an orgasm - it's an incredible pleasure." - Luis Figo
• "I think he reached and surpassed the level of Maradona. He does incredible things, at a speed that is insane." - Paolo Maldini
• "Don't write about him, don't try to describe him, just watch him." ~ Pep Guardiola
• "I was a big fan of Maradona growing up and of the current crop Ronaldo is good, but Messi is the best I've ever seen. I don't dish out praise lightly, but Messi deserves it. I look for weaknesses in his game and I can't find them." - Roy Keane
• "Messi is the best in the world without any doubt and for me [in] the history of football." - Luis Enrique

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Sources: Business Insider, Bleacher Report, Sports Joe, Daily Mail, Unicef, Messi: The Inside Story of a Boy Who Became a Legend by Luca Caioli, Lionel Messi: A Soccer Player Who Cares by Kimberly Gatto.

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* originally published on Medium