On Lionel Messi’s 39th birthday, the article revisits 10 lesser-known facts about the Argentine superstar, whose career has been defined by records, trophies and historic milestones. It says he has broken almost every possible mark in football and become one of the greatest athletes in history.
At age 11, doctors feared he would not reach average height after diagnosing him with a rare growth disorder. He needed daily growth hormone injections that cost hundreds of dollars a month, and his family struggled to pay until a club stepped in. When he went to trials at Barcelona at 13, sporting director Carles Rexach was so impressed that he wrote the first agreement to sign him on a paper napkin in a restaurant.
Before moving to Spain, his family had also tried to get River Plate to sign him, but the Argentine club could not afford his medical treatment. Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009 at 22 and has since collected eight, more than any other player. In 2012 he scored 91 goals in all competitions, a Guinness World Records mark.
The piece also recalls that Messi cried when he announced his retirement from Argentina after the 2016 Copa America final loss, only to return after public pressure. At 35, he finally won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar in December 2022 and was named the tournament’s best player. Off the field, he is married to Antonela Roccuzzo and has three sons, and he is described as private, modest and family-oriented. The article ends by noting that at the 2026 World Cup he added to his tally, including a hat trick against Algeria, then two goals against Austria, reaching 18 World Cup goals and becoming the tournament’s all-time top scorer.
