Lionel Messi made more history on Monday, becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup history during Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria in Group 10 in Dallas. In the stands were his wife, Antonela, and their three sons, Thiago, 13, Mateo, 10, and Ciro, 8, who watched him reach another career milestone up close.
Antonela, who married Messi in 2017, marked the achievement with an emotional Instagram post. “What a privilege to watch you make history over and over again,” she wrote. “I love you @leomessi.” She also shared photos of herself and the children wearing matching Argentina away shirts with Messi’s name and number 10, as well as images from the VIP suite showing her husband’s surname on the back of the jersey.
The article notes that Antonela has built an independent career beyond being the partner of one of football’s biggest stars. She is now described as a philanthropist, influencer with assets worth millions, children’s fashion brand owner, and model who has worked with brands including Adidas and Stella McCartney. She had once planned to study dentistry, but gave it up to follow Messi’s career from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain and now Inter Miami.
Messi entered the match tied with Germany’s Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals after scoring a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening game against Algeria. He had a chance to break the record in the ninth minute but missed a penalty and shot wide, before scoring twice to move alone into first place. The article also says he became only the third player ever to score in six consecutive World Cup matches, after Just Fontaine in 1958 and Jairzinho in 1970.
