Off the pitch, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are exemplary fathers, however, the way these two world-famous players raise their children is an interesting contrast.
Messi: “The children will choose what they want”
Not only is he a superstar on the field, Lionel Messi also surprises fans with the way he raises his children.
The Argentine superstar and his wife have three sons: Thiago, Mateo and Ciro. While Ciro is still young, and the eldest son Thiago is quiet and reserved, Mateo is often the most noticed for his humorous personality. When talking about the eldest son Thiago, Messi once shared: “He loves kicking the ball. But the truth is he is still too young. He likes to ride in carriages and swings more than playing football at the moment. He will choose what he wants.”
Messi once revealed that he really wanted his sons to follow in his footsteps and planned to register his eldest son Thiago to train with the PSG U.10 team, while Mateo joined the U.7 team. However, Messi absolutely does not force his children to train every day, but only creates the best conditions for them to develop their talents, as well as let them decide their own future careers.
Of these three sons, Mateo is considered to have football talent and is more likely to follow in his father’s footsteps than his older brother Thiago.
Although he really wants his children to follow his career, Messi does not impose or restrict his three sons into any framework. He always wants his children to develop instinctively, to develop their inherent abilities as children. That is why people rarely see M10 sharing pictures or videos of him practicing sports with his son. Instead, fans always see the frames of the Barcelona striker’s whole family happily together.
Perhaps because playing football is an innate ability, he also thinks that letting children develop naturally with what they have is best.
Photo: Internet
In daily life, Messi also lets his children freely choose what they like and respects that. For example, the second son Mateo clearly understands the hostility between Barcelona and Real Madrid, so every time Barca loses to Real, Mateo teases his father Messi. Not only Real, but any team that scores against Barca, Mateo also celebrates, although this seems to make his father quite confused. Similar to his younger brother, the eldest son Thiago is a true fan of… Ronaldo, not his father.
Sharing with Marca, Messi said that his daily life revolves around the children. In the morning, he will take Thiago to school and pick him up in the afternoon. The whole family gathers together in the evening until the children have to go to bed.
Ronaldo: “To become number 1, you need talent, practice and passion”
If arch-rival Messi lets his son live by instinct, Cristiano Ronaldo goes in the opposite direction. Ronaldo shared: “As a player, I want my son to become a player. He has to be a top player like his father. He is still young, only 5 years old, but he likes football. That is a plus. My family has 30 balls and I also bring home a lot of balls.”
Born into difficult circumstances, the Portuguese player turned it into a great source of motivation to fight. Now, he wants to teach that to his children so that they understand that to be successful, they must sweat instead of relying on family background or connections from their father. In a sharing with the media, he confided:
“I took my son to the place where I lived as a child. To be honest, I didn’t really want to go back because every time I saw the poverty here, it touched me. I went with Paixao and Cristiano Jr., and walked into the room where I used to live. My son turned to me and said: ‘Dad, you lived here.’ He couldn’t believe it.”
Ronaldo oriented his son towards a football career and outlined a clear path by letting him practice from a young age, starting with preparing a good physical condition. To achieve the great expectations of his father, Ronaldo’s son needs to try and make every effort. That is not simple and sometimes requires luck. Many times, Ronaldo’s fans were surprised when witnessing clips of Junior – CR7’s eldest son practicing with his father with a diligent attitude.
Photo: Internet
Not only is Ronaldo strict with his children in terms of sports training, he is also a very strict father with his children in their daily lives, from daily life to diet, all are put into practice from a young age. Accordingly, the Portuguese player hired a nutritionist to create a daily menu for each family member.
He also does not let his son use a mobile phone because he is afraid that he will become addicted to technology. Speaking at a press conference at the Al Wasl Dome exhibition area in the UAE, he said: “Technology helps a lot. It has helped me, the people sitting here and the whole world and I think we have to take advantage of that. However, we should not be obsessed with technology.”
CR7 said that his eldest son Junior once wanted to buy an iPhone so he could talk to his father, but he refused and told his son that if he wanted to call him, he could ask his grandmother. Through that, he wanted to teach his son that it is not easy to get whatever he wants: “Education is the best thing I can give my son.”
Photo: Internet
With his huge fortune, Ronaldo can give his children the best material conditions. However, this superstar always believes: “It all comes from education, teach your child well, inspire him. People always have to make efforts, work, and exercise.
You think everything is easy in this life. But everything complete, house, car, clothes… does not fall from the sky. That is what I try to instill in my son. Even when participating in school events, I try to convey that to the children. It is through work and dedication that we can have everything we want.”
It can be seen that the way CR9 and M10 educate and train their children is in two different schools, but in general, they meet at one point, which is unconditional love for their children and always giving all the best to their children.
