{"id":5916,"date":"2026-06-17T20:49:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/the-family-behind-football-legend-lionel-messi-wife-antonela-roccuzzo-and-three-sons\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T20:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:49:17","slug":"the-family-behind-football-legend-lionel-messi-wife-antonela-roccuzzo-and-three-sons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/the-family-behind-football-legend-lionel-messi-wife-antonela-roccuzzo-and-three-sons\/","title":{"rendered":"The family behind football legend Lionel Messi: Wife Antonela Roccuzzo and three sons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F06%2F131309852.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Soccer star Lionel Messi\u2019s family is total goals. <\/p>\n<p>The FIFA World Cup winner met his wife, Antonela\u00a0Roccuzzo, when the two were children, before reconnecting in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>The couple went on to welcome their eldest son, Thiago, in 2012. <\/p>\n<p>In 2015, Messi and Roccuzzo\u2019s son Mateo was born, just two years before the pair tied the knot in 2017.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Lionel Messi (pictured here on Tuesday) first met his wife, Antonela\u00a0Roccuzzo as young children before reconnecting in 2005. <span class=\"credit\">DeFodi Images\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The couple (pictured here in 2025) went on to welcome three sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro. <span class=\"credit\">Instagram\/@antonelaroccuzzo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Messi, 38, and Roccuzzo, also 38, completed their family in 2018 with the birth of their son Ciro.<\/p>\n<p>The athlete is once again the captain of team Argentina <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/photos\/celebrities-attending-the-world-cup-group-stage-2026\/\">at the\u00a02026 World Cup<\/a>, with his partner and three little ones cheering him on from the sidelines.<\/p>\n<p>Keep reading for everything you need to know about Messi\u2019s family. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>In 2016, Messi (pictured here with his family in 2023) said that, off the field, he lives a \u201cnormal, calm life, the kind of life we have always wanted.\u200b\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The athlete is currently competing in the 2026 World Cup (as pictured here on Tuesday). <span class=\"credit\">DeFodi Images\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Roccuzzo (pictured here with her husband in 2023) is a model and influencer who boasts almost 40 million Instagram followers. <span class=\"credit\">Corbis via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The mom of three (pictured 2022) has supported her partner throughout his career, often on the sidelines of matches with their kids.  <span class=\"credit\">FIFA via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Roccuzzo\u2019s love story with Messi dates back to childhood.<\/p>\n<p>The lovebirds both grew up in Rosario, Argentina and first crossed paths through Roccuzzo\u2019s cousin and Messi\u2019s longtime pal Lucas Scaglia.<\/p>\n<p>The two met at a young age and remained close even after Messi relocated to Spain to join Barcelona\u2019s youth academy,\u00a0La Masia.<\/p>\n<p>In 2005, Messi went back home to Argentina to support Roccuzzo after she tragically lost a close friend.<\/p>\n<p>Once the soccer player returned to Spain, the couple began dating long-distance before publicly confirming their romance in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>They tied the knot on June 30, 2017 at City Center Hotel Casino in Rosario.<\/p>\n<p>Along with being a mom and wife, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/article\/who-is-antonela-roccuzzo-lionel-messi-wife\/\">Roccuzzo has garnered almost 40 million followers<\/a> on Instagram working as both an influencer and philanthropist.<\/p>\n<p>The model has showed her support for her <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/18\/lionel-messis-wife-antonela-roccuzzo-kisses-him-after-world-cup\/\">husband throughout his career<\/a>, often sporting his No. 10 jersey to matches.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The couple welcomed their oldest son (pictured together in 2019) in 2012. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Thiago (pictured here with his brothers and parents in 2025) is following in his dad\u2019s footsteps and plays for Inter Miami\u2019s under-12 squad. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Messi and Roccuzzo welcomed Thiago on November 2, 2012.<\/p>\n<p>After his birth, Messi tattooed the newborn\u2019s name and handprints\u00a0on his calf.<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, Messi opened up about fatherhood<a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/1493858-lionel-messi-my-son-thiago-changed-my-life-more-than-the-ballon-dor-awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> to\u00a0El Peri\u00f3dico, stating<\/a>, \u201cWhen I look at life, think about each moment, when I analyze every situation \u2026 Now everything is different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, ahead of the star winning the World Cup, Thiago showed his support by writing down the lyrics to \u201cMuchachos Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/37634903\/how-muchachos-became-messi-argentinas-world-cup-anthem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to ESPN<\/a>, the song has become an anthem among Argentina fans and loosely translates to, \u201cGuys, now we have hope once again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Messi dubbed the tune as his favorite, and it quickly became the unofficial anthem for Argentina during the game.<\/p>\n<p>Messi\u2019s oldest child is now following in his footsteps through youth soccer.<\/p>\n<p>Thiago was previously a member of Barcelona\u2019s academy, just like his dad was. <\/p>\n<p>In 2020,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ve8swq7lisU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a clip of<\/a>\u00a0the little athlete scoring a goal during his first match on the team went viral.<\/p>\n<p>After attending Paris Saint-Germain academy, Thiago currently resides on Inter Miami\u2019s under-12 squad.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Mateo (pictured here with his parents and older brother in 2019) is the second of Messi\u2019s three sons and was born in 2015. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Messi said that Mateo (pictured here in 2021 with his family) is just as competitive as he is and cried after Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in 2022.  <span class=\"credit\">WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Messi and Roccuzzo\u2019s second son, Mateo, was born on Sept. 11, 2015.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6IozcRb3PJw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">speaking with ESPN UK<\/a>, Messi said about his middle child, \u201cMateo is very special, he\u2019s always doing new things, things that grab your attention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sports champion revealed that Mateo takes after him in a number of ways, including competitiveness.<\/p>\n<p>After Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in 2022, Messi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/sport\/football\/news\/lionel-messi-argentina-world-cup-28595413\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told reporters at the time<\/a> that Mateo left the game in tears.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy family suffers the same as all Argentines,\u201d he expressed. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Ciro (pictured here with his parents in 2022) was born on March 10, 2018, completing the family of five.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>In March, the model (pictured here with her family in 2022) wished her son a happy birthday on social media, writing, \u201cWe are very proud of you Ciro! We love you so much.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The couple\u2019s youngest son was born on March 10, 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Roccuzzo tattooed the word \u201cCiro\u201d\u00a0on her arm after his arrival, while Messi added ink alongside his tattoos for his other sons. <\/p>\n<p>In a 2016 essay\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/longform\/2016\/lionel-messi-copa-america-argentina-barcelona\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">for Sports Illustrated<\/a>, the professional footballer opened up about what a day in the life off the field looks like for him with his kids.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA typical day involves taking Thiago to school, going to training, hanging out at home drinking mat\u00e9 and spending time with Anto and the kids at the park or somewhere,\u201d he penned at the time. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a normal, calm life, the kind of life we have always wanted.\u200b\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In March, the mom of three wished Ciro a happy birthday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DVtl869DuFR\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=AsxHf3ekYsURzgrv-UsiI9i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">writing on Instagram<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s been 8 years of watching you grow up already. We are very proud of you Ciro! We love you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/06\/17\/entertainment\/lionel-messi-family-wife-and-sons\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer star Lionel Messi\u2019s family is total goals. The FIFA World Cup winner met his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/131309852.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}