Multicultural Vida

Lionel Messi: 10 Fascinating Facts

By Fanny Schertzer (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

So the World Cup is winding down… I’m hoping that Argentina wins today, but in case it doesn’t… I couldn’t write about Argentina without writing about its great player, Lionel Messi. I have very much enjoyed discovering new things about this country… and now I want to go visit it! I hope Argentina wins today so I can write one more post about this beautiful country!

Here are ten fascinating facts about

1. Lionel Messi’s ancestors are Italian, from Ancona.

2. He was born in Rosario, Argentina (The same place where Che Guevara was born!)

3. Lionel’s nickname is Leo.

4. Leo suffered from a growth hormone deficiency and when Barcelona signed him, they agreed to pay for his treatment, $900 a month, which his parents couldn’t afford.

Lionel_Messi_Player_of_the_Year_2011
By Christopher Johnson (Flickr: Lionel Messi Player of the Year 2011) via Wikimedia Commons

5. He is a UNICEF ambassador.

6. He has a foundation, Fundación Leo Messi; its mission is to support at-risk kids and adolescents and focuses on health and education projects.

7. Leo is a dad. His son’s name is Thiago. He had his footprints tattooed on his calf.

8. Leo has won 4 Ballon d’Or, making him the player that has won the most in history.

9. Leo is on Forbes’ list of most influential celebrities, at no. 45.

10. Leo Messi has dual citizenship: Argentina and Spain.

Diana Limongi
Diana a mom, activist, nonprofit professional, podcaster and writer from Queens, NY. She writes about motherhood, activism, raising my multilingual kids, culture and travel. She and her multicultural family live in Queens, NY.

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