Soccer star Lionel Messi is famous all over the world for how good he is on the field, but his real team is his wife Antonella Roccuzzo, and their three kids.

Lionel Messi is one of the best-paid players in the world. He is known for his skill on the field, the many trophies he has won, and his record of 104 goals for the Argentine national team.

But it wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t been giving his all for his own team the whole time.

“A year I will never forget comes to an end,” the 36-year-old wrote on Instagram (initially in Spanish) on December 31, 2022, two weeks after finally winning the World Cup and adding it to his long list of amazing achievements. “I finally achieved the dream I had always had.” But that wouldn’t mean anything if I couldn’t share it with my great family, the best family anyone could have. When I fall, they’ll always be there for me and never let me stay down.

When Messi was about 6 years old, he met the woman who would become his wife through a friend.The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was working out at Newell’s Old Boys’ youth school in Rosario, which is 186 miles northwest of Buenos Aires and is home to him. One summer, Messi met Scaglia’s cousin Antonela Roccuzzo when Scaglia asked him to spend the holiday with his family.

Both kids got along quickly, but neither of them knew they’d met the One yet.

They still had a long way to go: Messi was 10 years old when he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. A childhood endocrinologist suggested that he get regular hormone injections because he was noticeably smaller than his peers. When his dad’s insurance ran out after two years, they didn’t know what to do next.

Lucky for him, an Argentine sports agent saw a tape of the obviously talented 12-year-old and set up an invite for him to try out for FC Barcelona in 2000.

When he signed with the European club, they agreed to pay for his medical care. In 2001, Messi’s dad Jorge, mom Celia, older brothers Matias and Rodrigo, and younger sister Maria-Sol arrived in Spain. But in the end, Celia took his brothers back to Argentina, leaving Jorge to take care of the teenager.

Let’s say it went well since Jorge is still his son’s agent and best friend.

Messi finally found his footing at La Masia, Barcelona’s youth school. In his first season there, as an under-16 player, he scored 38 goals in 31 games, and the rest is history. His heart stayed in Rosario, though, when he was a kid who missed his home and was trying to grow into his huge ability.

He was still in touch with Roccuzzo, and in 2005, when he heard that her best friend had died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, he flew back home.