Lionel Messi has known his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, since they were children.
“The truth is that [I admire] everything [about Antonela],” the soccer star gushed to Marca in an October 2019 interview. “She has many good qualities: how she gets by on a daily basis; her personality; she is always in a good mood; and she always faces up to problems in an admirable way. She is a very intelligent person who is great in all aspects of life.”
Messi first met Roccuzzo when he was 5 years old in their native Argentina. Despite a sweet friendship, the professional athlete left home at age 13 to pursue his soccer training in Spain. They eventually reconnected in 2005 after Messi found out that the model’s best friend had died in a fatal car accident. The pro athlete flew back to his hometown to comfort Roccuzzo, nearly four years before they publicly confirmed their romance.
Messi proposed in 2010, two years before welcoming son Thiago. The couple — who also share sons Mateo, born in 2015, and Ciro, born in 2018 — wed in July 2017 in their hometown of Rosario, Argentina.
The married couple have continued to grow in love while raising their brood, who love cheering on Messi’s athletic matches. Roccuzzo and the pair’s sons dutifully watched Messi compete with Argentina’s national team in the 2022 World Cup championship, which they won that year. They also attended the 2026 tournament, where Messi once again led Team Argentina to the finals in July 2026.
Scroll below for Messi and Roccuzzo’s complete relationship timeline:
