Striker Lionel Messi spoke to Argentine newspaper Ole for 45 minutes, to explain his journey into football and the importance of family.
– What do you remember about the first time you played football, when you were eight or nine?
– Much longer than that, when I was four or five. I started dribbling when I could walk. I remember my first games for Grandoli, the feeling of being on the pitch. I used to play with my brothers and cousins before that. I don’t remember when I first started playing football, I just knew I was very young. When I was four, I started playing for that club, and also playing on the streets whenever I could.
Messi (bottom row, third from left) in the team jersey in Rosario. Photo: Sport
– There’s a famous anecdote about your grandmother Celia, who argued with the coach to get you on the field when you were only four years old, right?
– Yes, my whole family told me that story (laughs). At that time, one of my brothers was playing for that club, and my grandmother and I always went to the stadium to watch. The match was for players born in 1986, who were different in both physique and age from me. I remember that day they were missing a player, so my grandmother told the coach of that team, whom she had known for a long time. “Let him play,” she said about me. He said: “No, I can’t do that. Look, he’s so small. You’re crazy. He’ll get hurt.” But she insisted: “Let him play, let him play.” Finally, I got on the field, and did a few things, and from then on… My grandmother went and told the coach: “Buy him some football boots. I’ll take him to training next week.” That’s how football started for me. Everything was very convenient because my family always went there on weekends. And the whole family spent the whole weekend at the club. My childhood was so beautiful.
– Do you remember the first table, or the table you remember most when you were a kid?
– I only remember when I watch videos of regional tournaments. Later, when I played for Newell’s, I remember some important tournaments that I played. But, if I see videos, I remember. Otherwise, I can’t remember because I was very young.
– What do you remember about playing street football in Rosario?
– I remember playing football with my friends a lot, every day. And sometimes when I met older guys, I wasn’t allowed to play because I was too small.
– What would those people think now?
– No, because they care about me, and are afraid I will get hurt, so they don’t let me play with them. I have a lot of memories.
Messi wears a mask to play in the Catalonia Cup final.
– I saw a picture of you in Barcelona, you were wearing a mask when you played, was it because you broke your nose?
– Yes, I have a broken cheekbone.
– Cheekbones? Why?
– I was playing for the Barça youth team, around 14 or 15. One weekend against Espanyol, the opposition elbowed me in the face and broke my cheekbone. A week later, we played in the final of the Catalan Cup – a tournament I don’t know if it still exists. At my age, it was very important. The same thing happened to Puyol, when he played with a mask for who knows how long. The team gave me a mask and let me play with it.
I tried it on a few times in training, and after five minutes I couldn’t stand it. It was too big and it was messing with my face. I decided to throw it away and continue playing. I think I scored twice, and Barca won 3-0. After 30 minutes I was substituted. My dad shouted at the coach not to let me play without a mask, so the coach took me off. At the time I didn’t realise how dangerous it was. But I wanted to play at all costs. When I put my head down I couldn’t see the ball because of the problem, so I took it off and continued playing.
– Do you do crazy things for football?
– I don’t remember a specific story, but I did everything to play. I wanted to play football everywhere, at the club, around the neighborhood. Wherever there was a match, I wanted to participate. As for the crazy thing, I don’t know.
– When you were your eldest son’s age, you took growth hormone injections. Did you tell your children about it?
– I do it for many reasons, not just for football. It is a method that helps me in my daily life, not just as a player. I am very responsible in this matter. When I have to do something, and want to do something, I will do my best to achieve my goal. My son Thiago knows that I am undergoing this treatment. But I never thought that my children would have to do the same.
– Did you ever think you would have to have that treatment when you were Thiago’s age?
– Yes. I have thought about it. As a father, I would probably find it very difficult if Thiago had to undergo such treatment. But, I have done it before, and I don’t feel any problem. I have to take care of myself and take responsibility for what I do.
– Speaking of crazy things, when you first arrived in Barcelona, there was a photo that went viral recently of you sitting in your hotel room as soon as you arrived in Barca with Camp Nou in the background. Have you seen that photo?
– Okay. Okay.
– What memories does that photo bring back to you?
– The truth is that it was difficult to make the decision to come to Barca at that time. But everything happened very quickly, and I did not hesitate, did not have to think. At that time, I did not understand how difficult it was to leave my country, my family, my friends and build a life in another place. At first, there were many problems because when I first arrived, I did not have a playing license. When I was just playing, I got injured.
I spent almost a year without playing football, just training, it was very different. Then I was lucky because everything happened very quickly. I progressed very quickly and played with the older guys. Whenever I saw the opportunity coming very close, I felt like I wanted to stay here longer and keep fighting. I was lucky because it was difficult at first, but then it went very well.
– You came here in 2001, and in 2003 you were already training with the first team. Your career has really exploded, hasn’t it?
– That helped me a lot in deciding to stay and overcome the difficulties before. But the decision at that time was not easy, because I was far from home, very far. Today I am still far from home, but actually closer than before because communication is much easier now.
– How were the trips from Rosario back to Barcelona for you then?
– I cried every time. I didn’t want to stay, but I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to go back to Barcelona to continue what I had left unfinished. But it was hard to say goodbye to Rosario. I knew that after only six months I would be back in Rosario to share my experiences. I lost many friends because it was difficult to contact people. Nowadays, a 13 or 14-year-old can walk around with a smartphone. But that wasn’t the case in my time. It was very difficult to leave Argentina. Back then, I could only contact people by email or phone. But those things gradually disappeared. It was difficult to keep in touch with people. And I had to stop talking to many people because of the distance and the difficulty of communication.
– So do you still keep in touch with any friends from childhood?
– I still have friends from the neighborhood, with whom I can still keep in touch. We still talk regularly. And my football friends, I have known them since I was very young. With others, I have started to rebuild relationships after many years. It is nice to contact old friends after many years apart.
– Your face brightens up a lot when you talk about this, doesn’t it? Your expression is different.
– Yes. My childhood in Argentina was wonderful. We also lived differently back then. Boys in Argentina lived differently back then. Honestly, I really liked life back then.
– How important is Lautaro Formica to your presence in the Argentina youth team?
– I knew Laucha from Newell’s. He was in the 1986 class and we always met. And there was always a rivalry between the 86 and 87 classes, to see which one was better. Laucha’s class was very strong. I also knew Laucha’s younger brother, Gato. They knew my whole family, and me too. Laucha was always called up to the Argentine youth teams, from the U15s. He went through all the youth teams. When I played for the Argentina U20s, they asked him about me. Oh no, no, he was playing for the Argentina U17s.
– At the 2003 U17 World Cup in Finland, right?
– That’s right. Because they had just met Spain, and Cesc Fabregas was playing for Spain.
– At that time, the Spanish coach asked the Argentine coach Hugo Tocalli why he was not called up, right? Tocalli was awakened and began to find out who Lionel Messi was.
– Yes. Because Cesc was called up to the Spain U17s, and he and I played together in the Barca youth team. That’s why they started asking why I wasn’t called up. It all started from there. I knew Laucha, and he helped me integrate quickly when I joined the Argentina U20s. Because the Argentina U20s had been playing together for a long time and I was like a rookie. Laucha’s support was important.
– Are you still in contact with Lautaro?
– Yes. Yes. The Argentina U20 team was great at that time, at the South American tournament in Colombia and the World Cup in the Netherlands.
– What is most important to you about family?
– Everything. Everything. I’m very lucky because I can spend a lot of time with my family. Because there are families where the parents work all day, and don’t get home until late at night. My parents used to work that hard, and they were very tired when they got home at 9pm. I didn’t play with them much. So I’m lucky because I spend most of the day with my kids, taking them to school, soccer, or other activities. I love spending time with my wife, kids, and brothers.
– What do you like to do most with your family?
– I love waking up with the kids and having breakfast with them. Even though there are times when I get so mad at them (laughs). But I love waking up with them and taking them to school and putting them to bed. I love doing that every day.
– What about your wife? Do you two go to the movies together?
– The truth is we rarely go out.
– It’s hard to go out, isn’t it? Because everyone knows who you are?
– No. No. Not necessarily because of who I am, but because of their schedules. We have three kids and we have to learn to adapt to their schedules. After school, they will participate in activities, and my husband and I will have to look after them. Sometimes we will have dinner at 8:30 or 9:00 p.m., then go to bed. They will be sleepy right after dinner, and so will my husband and I. We are both dead tired (laughs).
– It’s understandable, because outside you are Lionel Messi, a football superstar, a famous person. But when you come home, you are the father of Mateo, Ciro and Thiago.
– That’s why I told you there are three of us. My schedule depends on them. I like to play with them, and watch them do their activities in the afternoon. Then we eat early and go to bed early. I like it that way, and that’s all we usually do. The truth is, we rarely go out.
– Is this a problem?
– Yes. That’s right.
– Do you ever complain?
– Yes, sometimes.
– We all complain sometimes, don’t we?
– Yes, but that’s understandable. Having three kids can be complicated sometimes.
– Do your children understand how famous their father is?
– Thiago and Mateo both understand. But they take it differently. For example, Thiago doesn’t like attention. He’s very shy and can’t stand it. Mateo, on the other hand, doesn’t care if people recognize him. He doesn’t care what other people say about him. Thiago is more shy, so he’ll be more upset. But they both understand the problem.
– What is the relationship between you and your children’s parents?
– We are lucky to be in a group with great parents. Starting with Thiago, he went to school first and made friends with other lovely kids, and their parents were also great. Whenever the parents met, we communicated normally. Now I have another child in school.
– Being so famous, do you feel uncomfortable?
– Yes. I know people are always looking at me. I get crazy sometimes. This is the same problem we just talked about, about rarely going out. Sometimes I don’t want to be noticed, I just want to go here and there and do normal things like everyone else. For example, my whole family wants to go shopping at the mall, without being seen and without being forced to take pictures. There are times when I don’t want that. My family feels pressured when everyone is looking at me. There are bad days when I get crazy and don’t want to see anyone outside. Most people want to ask for an autograph or take a picture, but I’m not in the mood to do so. That happens to me a lot. Sometimes I react in a bad way. Well, not necessarily a bad way. But then people expect me to smile more, and tell me to smile more. But, sometimes I don’t want to do that. But I have to accept that annoyance, without complaining.
– Do you also like to receive love from fans?
– Yes. Of course. Sometimes I want to be unnoticed, but when people meet me and say nice things, I am very happy. I am lucky because wherever I go, people recognize me, pay attention to me and say nice things to me. It is also nice to take pictures with me.
Back to the parents group thing, I just joined another one. I really enjoy talking to people who are not interested in football, and we just talk about other things.
– What do you usually talk about with your friends?
– We talked about everything, as usual. We talked about football, about life and about the pandemic because it affects every aspect of life, and everywhere in the world.
– How do you feel when your “normal” friends have problems with Covid-19 in Spain or Argentina?
– Of course I feel sad, even sadder when my friends or relatives are in that situation. I don’t like the current situation, not only for my friends, but for the whole world. Poverty is still rampant all over the world, especially for those who are suffering from the pandemic. I see those difficulties with my own eyes. I understand their suffering, because I was not like this before. But it’s not easy to express my opinion on this aspect, because people will say: “You say that but you don’t understand what we are like”. It’s not easy. But I understand the situation that is happening in Argentina and Spain – where I live and see it with my own eyes. I am also affected by the pandemic, like everyone else. But I have to talk from a different perspective, it’s difficult to express my opinion.
– When you were young, your family was not poor, but belonged to the lower middle class, so you understand such difficulties?
– I don’t lack anything, because my father has to work all day. My father is rarely home, to make sure that our family doesn’t lack anything. He has to work overtime, and extra jobs. But there are friends of mine who have to live in poverty, with nothing to eat, no electricity, no running water. I could see that situation since I was a child.
– Why do you still retain your strong Argentine personality even though you have been away from this country since childhood?
– I don’t know, maybe for the reason I just mentioned. I left when I was young, but a part of me never left. Everything that happened to me was related to Argentina. My family, relatives and friends are still there.
– But what motivates you to keep coming back to Argentina?
– I don’t know how to explain it. I like to go back to Rosario and see my relatives. I want to go there, have a barbecue and eat with my family and friends. Maybe because I left when I was too young, I didn’t have the chance to enjoy all the interesting things about the country, my family and friends. That urged me to come back. It’s also partly because my trips to Argentina were very short.
– Does your home in Arroyo Seco compel you to return two or three times a year?
– My family and friends are all there. There are also times when my extended family travels all over Argentina. My wife’s family lives all over Argentina. I have so many memories of Rosario and Arroyo Seco. Just going back there brings back the memories.
– When you were a student, what were your achievements?
– The truth is I don’t like studying, and have problems with learning, but I’ve always been polite.
– You finished seventh grade in Rosario, right?
– Right
– Did you study in Spain in high school?
– I graduated from high school in Spain. The schoolwork was difficult, and I wasn’t interested. But I got through it.
– We talked about the barbecue party, so are you a good cook?
– Not really. I can help in the kitchen, but not really be a barbecue chef. I prefer support work.
– Do people call you Leo or Lio?
– It was supposed to be Lio, but everyone calls me Leo now. My mom would kill me, but now everyone calls me Leo.
– How do you grow a beard like that?
– I had a contract with Gillette at the time, and they wanted me to shave as much as possible. So I shaved a lot, but when my contract ended, I stopped. Then I grew that beard. And I think at the Copa America 2016 in the US, a lot of my friends had beards like that. So I kept it. Maybe at some point I’ll get tired of it and shave it off again. Like hair, I used to have it long. But when I got bored, I cut it.
– How do you choose clothes?
– My wife Antonela chooses my clothes. I don’t pay much attention to clothes, I don’t have any special preferences. I don’t care much, just be normal.
– Why does everyone say they like the steak made by your mother the most?
– I don’t know, maybe because my mother poured the sauce on it. I’ve eaten many good steaks, but the best ones were the first ones I had at home. Maybe because I always said my mother’s steak was the best, so everyone else thought the same. Maybe that’s why. Because I ate the most steaks made by my mother, and the sauces in other places weren’t like that.
Messi helps cook a barbecue party with his family.
– Who is the main chef for your family’s barbecue party?
– Usually my dad. When the whole family gets together, my dad is in charge of this dish. I just hang around.
– Do you use your mobile phone a lot? And are you tech-savvy?
– Like everyone else, I use my phone a lot, all the time. Sometimes I use it too much, and it takes up other things. Sometimes I realize I’m spending too much time on my phone when it’s not really doing anything meaningful. Then I’m late for something else. But this happens to us all these days.
– Do you watch football a lot?
– I watch a lot, and watch other tournaments too. I like to know the latest results of the teams.
– Do you study tactics?
– I watch football as a spectator rather than to learn tactics.
– Even with the Champions League?
– Yes. Before each match, I will study the opponent’s playing style. But when I watch football, I don’t analyze tactics, I just enjoy it.
– Are you obsessed with tactics?
– I like to study opponents, learn how to put pressure on them and where their weaknesses are. Even though we have clubs and experts, I still like to observe and reflect on myself.
– Are you excited about playing in Copa America?
– Yes. The whole team is looking forward to this tournament. The last tournament was canceled due to Covid-19, so we are even more excited. This Copa America is very special because there will be no spectators. But, I still want to participate in the tournament again.
– The 2021 King’s Cup is your 35th title with Barca, why are you still so hungry for the title?
– Every time I play, I aim to win and try to win every title possible. The recent Copa del Rey was special because Barca had gone almost two years without a title. There were also many young players in the dressing room and this Copa del Rey was like a turning point for them, very important. Above all, I also want to win and win titles, the more the better.
– At the King’s Cup celebration, how did you feel when your teammates took turns asking to take a photo with you?
– That experience was great. Many players who started from zero would feel the same way. I understand that because I also had nothing. At that time, I also wanted to take a photo with the seniors in the team, because we had won another title. That was a great memory.
– Do you have any other passions that you have not revealed?
– No, no, nothing special. I like playing paddle tennis.
– What is your style of play?
– Just passing the ball. I mainly played with Pepe Costa (Messi’s advisor). He played very well. I ran a lot and he finished. We didn’t play much, about three games a day.
– Do you like playing ball with dogs?
– I like dogs and I have a dog named Hulk. My father and I often let him play with a ball. Ciro loves Hulk. The first thing he does when he wakes up, or before he goes to sleep, is say hello to Hulk and play with him. Antonela and Ciro are the biggest dog lovers, but I like dogs too.
– In Rosario, do you have a dog?
– I keep dogs everywhere. My husband and I agree on that, because we both raised them ourselves. No problem.
– Your house has a room full of shirts of famous players that you have exchanged shirts with. Whose shirt do you regret not having the most?
– I only started swapping shirts with opponents when I got a little older, before that I didn’t pay much attention to it. My brother Matias in Argentina used to collect things when I started playing. I regret not asking to swap shirts with players I played against when I was young, when I first started my career. For example, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos from Brazil, players I played against but didn’t have their shirts. Now I really want their shirts. Maybe I missed someone else, but anyway I have shirts of most of the famous players.
– And it must be difficult for you to refuse a player who asks for your shirt, because you have already promised to give it to another player?
– It happens a lot. I always swap shirts with my opponents, unless I get really angry and leave the field immediately. But I often swap shirts.
– Are you proud when your opponent asks to exchange shirts?
– Yes, of course. It’s also a way to talk to each other easier. That’s a good thing.
– How do you feel when people mention Argentina and immediately think of you?
– It’s crazy, but it also makes me very touched because wherever I go, people know me and treat me well, like I said. I feel happy when people know me through football matches or on TV.
– What is the craziest thing a fan has ever done to you?
– You know, my memory is not very good. If you remind me of some memories, I will remember.
– There was a girl who jumped from the stands to the field, do you remember?
– Oh right, 2007.
– You went to Saudi Arabia once, and someone almost pointed a gun at your face at the airport, remember?
– That guy is crazy, I’m scared. But he didn’t mean it and didn’t realize what he was doing.
– Finally, do you have any message for the Argentine people?
– I always want to say this to everyone, that I am very grateful for the way people treat me. I know that the Argentine people love me very much, even though we are going through difficult years, as well as the pandemic. That has a big impact on the world, and on us too. Hopefully we can move forward, and together build the country, as well as bring success to the Argentine team.
– We would like to give you this leather ball to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ole newspaper. The ball is yours, and your children’s too.
– The kids drive me crazy because they only like to play indoors all day. They have their own soccer field but they only like to play indoors. After family, soccer is of course my biggest passion.
