Antonela Roccuzzo: Biography of Lionel Messi’s Wife

In March 2024 Lionel Messi confirmed that American Inter Miami is his last team in his professional career. At the same time, the 37-year-old footballer frankly admitted that he is afraid of ending his career, so he does not know when the right time will come to finally hang up his boots and leave. At the same time, the Argentine forward no less frankly said that he is sure of one thing: his success would not be possible without the support of the closest person – his beloved wife.

Few people know that Messi’s wife Antonella Roccuzzo has been present in his life since early childhood, but the path to their family happiness turned out to be thorny. Those football fans who remember the gossip columns of the mid-2000s are unlikely to have forgotten Leo’s heartfelt adventures with Macarena Lemos and Luciana Salazar. And how can you forget, when the latter is a real WAG and a hot model with a dubious, or rather even undoubted past, who starred in an erotic TV series for Playboy TV.
If you are intrigued, we suggest finding out together who Lionel Messi’s wife is, analyze her biography and follow how the relationship of one of the most famous football couples in the world developed. Spoiler: the spouses harmoniously share the joys of life, love and harmony reign in their home, and Lionel is faithful to his chosen one and has never cheated on her.

Biography of Antonella Roccuzzo

The daughter of successful businessman José Roccuzzo and housewife Patricia Blanco, Antonella was born on February 26, 1988 in Rosario, Argentina’s third largest city, and grew up in the same neighborhood as Messi. She grew up with her two sisters, Paula and Carla, in a caring and strong family environment. From a young age, she showed a particular interest in fashion trends and beauty, which later led to a successful career in these areas.

She received her first higher education at the National University of Rosario, graduating from the Faculty of Humanities. Here, presumably at the insistence of her parents, who saw their daughter as a successful dentist, the girl studied dentistry. However, later she changed her course to dietetics, then chose social communication, and then dropped out of school altogether, devoting herself to her husband, children and vocation.

Since Antonella is in no hurry to advertise her personal life, much less her past, some chapters of her life remain unfinished and controversial. For example, in the media you can find information that she is a nutritionist by profession, worked in a hospital in her youth and voluntarily received a second specialty as a dentist until she got together with her future husband.

How Antonella Roccuzzo met Lionel Messi

Again, there are many versions, but the couple themselves confirm only one. Their love story began in their hometown of Rosario. They met when he was 5 and she was 4.

The reason for the first meeting was a mutual acquaintance, Lucas Scaglia, a friend and teammate of Messi from a children’s football team, and also Antonelleta’s cousin, that is, her cousin. The company quickly became close and spent days together. They played, ran around the courtyards, fooled around and visited each other so often that eventually even the Messi and Roccuzzo families became close friends. So the years passed unnoticed, but the girl had no idea that Leo had fallen head over heels in love with her during this time, although she herself was not indifferent to the guy. However, their romantic story did not develop at first, requiring the test of time and separation.

At the age of 13, the young football prodigy attracted the attention of Barcelona scouts, so in 2000 he and his family moved to Catalonia. Messi and Antonella began to communicate less and less, eventually reducing their rare correspondence to banal congratulations on holidays. The guy was pursuing a sports career, performing in championships and traveling to competitions. Fame, money and hot young blood made themselves felt, so romances with femme fatales touched him in the most direct way, but none of them lasted long.

Meanwhile, Antonella entered the university, where she met a young man. The couple was already planning a wedding, but a terrible misfortune happened – the groom died in a car accident. However, there is another version, according to which their mutual close friend died. Be that as it may, having learned about the tragedy, Leo dropped everything and went to his beloved in Argentina to be with her in difficult times. Since then, they have been practically inseparable.

Children and the long-awaited wedding

It is known that Lionel Messi’s current and only wife has been in a relationship with him since 2008. Initially, the future newlyweds hid their relationship, but already in 2009, the footballer publicly announced his choice when he took the girl with him to Spain. Soon, in 2010, the former star of the Catalan club proposed to her, but the couple was in no hurry to legitimize their marriage, being closely engaged in “increasing the family legion”:

• In November 2012, Lionel and Antonella had their first child, Thiago.
• Three years later, another heir, Mateo, was born.
• And finally, in October 2017, the footballer led his chosen one straight down the aisle.

On June 30, Rosario became the epicentre of love: Antonella Roccuzzo and Lionel Messi held a lavish wedding right in the heart of their hometown. The place, known for its crime reputation, was surrounded by about 200 security guards. At least 250 guests were present at the celebration, many of whom had arrived in Argentina from Europe, so an additional 300 police officers were stationed along the route to the airport for security.

The municipality spared no resources to create the ideal conditions for the wedding of its famous compatriot. For a week, the area sparkled with cleanliness and national flags, and Messi fans gathered at a specially equipped site where the wedding was broadcast.

The wedding was attended by such football aces as Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. There was also some glamour: Shakira and Gerard Pique, who are, by the way, bosom friends of the Messi couple, came. Instead of gifts, the newlyweds asked for donations to a charity fund.

At 19:00, Lionel and Antonella, together with their son Tiago, approached the altar. The wedding date was already immortally inscribed on their fingers in Latin numerals: XXX-VI-XVII. After the ceremony, photos of wedding hands sparkled on social networks. The bride shone in a dress from Rosa Clara, whose outfits are chosen by stars like Eva Longoria, and the groom was elegantly modest. More than 150 photojournalists attended the couple’s wedding, photographing them on a specially prepared red carpet. Not a single paparazzi was allowed into the banquet hall.

Fun fact: The king of the football pitch seems to have failed to win the dance floor crown. A video of Messi and Roccuzzo’s first wedding dance has sparked a flurry of comments online about how the dribbling genius is clearly no waltz virtuoso. It seems that passes and goals come much easier to him than steps.

Meanwhile, on March 10, 2018, Messi’s wife gave birth to his third son, Ciro. The family now lives in Miami, having bought a luxurious mansion for 11 million dollars.

What does Messi’s wife do?

Currently, Antonella Roccuzzo is raising her sons, has a popular Instagram page, owns her own fashion boutique in Barcelona and periodically participates in major advertising campaigns for global brands as a model. The girl adheres to a healthy lifestyle and plays sports, so her photos in a bikini, despite the trilogy of births, now and then blow up the Internet, causing envy in millions of women and relief in millions of men.

Over the years of marriage, Lionel and Antonella have formed a truly unbreakable bond, framed by mutual respect and support. From joint sports training to attending social events, their union inspires and pleases fans.