As per Argentine tradition, only a bride is allowed to wear a white dress on the wedding day. However, when Lionel Messi married his childhood sweetheart Antonela Roccuzzo in 2017, in an intimate ceremony in Rosario, Argentina, Antonela was not the only person dressed in white. Messi’s mother, Celia took center stage as she also dressed up in a white frock. It was reported that Celia’s outfit ignited severe disagreement with Antonela’s family, and they spent the remainder of the ceremony on a different floor at the hotel.
That aside, Messi’s wedding was indeed a gala. His former Barcelona teammates, including superstar Neymar, showed up in Rosario to wish luck to La Pulga and Antonela Roccuzzo. Besides, given Messi’s equation with his mother, it is quite sure that Celia’s wedding mishap has not done much to hinder her relationship with her son.
The soccer community still remembers Celia struggling to fight back tears as she embraced Messi on the field shortly after he won the World Cup in 2022. When the Argentine superstar kick-started his Inter Miami stint, his mother was in the stands to cheer him on.
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Well, Celia has been Messi’s biggest support system way before he became the superstar as we know him today. Back in the day, she toiled in factories to support Leo’s family and his blossoming soccer career.
Who was Lionel Messi’s mother Celia before her son became a soccer superstar?
Lionel Messi’s mother Celia Maria Cuccittini was born on January 23, 1960, in Argentina to Italian parents. While her husband Jorge Horacio Messi worked in a factory, she worked as a part-time house cleaner to support their family. Celia also reportedly worked in a magnet manufacturing factory during the days of their struggle.
Jorge Messi and Celia moved to Spain and brought up four kids, including the 8x-Ballon d’Or winner in their working-class Argentine household. But due to work, she had to leave little Messi with his father at home. He only got to see his mother every 4 months for the first 3 years of his life. Jorge had a tough time bringing him up because he used to cry at night.
However, after Messi started his soccer career, he had to stay away from his family and took time to get adjusted to his new life. He had revealed in an interview, “It was very tough for me… There were moments when I was really sad and homesick, but I never thought of leaving. I knew I wanted to stay and keep playing…”
Everyone knows that Messi and his mother, Celia share a very close bond and he has always found creative ways to honor her. He has a portrait of her tattooed on his left shoulder blade. In 2011, he gifted his mother a terrific moment by lifting his jersey to reveal an undershirt that had “Feliz cumple mami!” (Happy Birthday Mommy! translated by Google) in front of a camera but was fined and given a yellow card for the act.
Though Celia has stayed away from the spotlight most of the time, in 2018 she appeared on a TV show and said proudly about her son, “Leo is a divine son, a beautiful brother, a better father and an incredible husband.”
His parents have cheered for him at every step of his career, but for them, it’s not his achievements that matter, it’s his character. They said, “Of course, he triumphed in the sport of soccer, we are proud of him, but what we care about most is that he’s a good person… His success elsewhere is a consequence of who he is.”
Celia is now a fashion entrepreneur, having found various ventures in the industry. Earlier, she also worked as the brand manager of ‘The Messi Store,’ which is the Inter Miami star’s premium lifestyle brand.
