1. A Dictionary Added a Word Just for Him
In 2013, the Spanish dictionary Santillana officially added a brand new adjective to its pages: “inmessionante.” The word was created specifically to describe the Argentine forward. It has two official definitions: the first is “the perfect way to play football, an unlimited ability to self-improve,” and the second simply reads, “describes the best player of all time.”
2. His Hometown Legally Banned the Name “Messi”
In 2014, the phenomenon of Lionel Messi reached such a fever pitch in his native Rosario, Argentina, that local government officials had to legally step in. A civil servant passed a specific law banning parents from using “Messi” as a first name for their babies, citing that it would cause massive administrative confusion for census workers if half the city shared the exact same name.
3. He Bought His Neighbor’s House for Peace and Quiet
According to his former Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic, Messi is someone who values his tranquility above all else. When the neighbors next door to his luxurious home in Castelldefels started renting out rooms to rowdy, noisy tourists, Messi completely bypassed lodging noise complaints and simply bought the neighboring house himself to secure his family’s peace.
4. An Astonishing 91 Goals in a Single Year
In 2012, Messi achieved something that many consider to be mathematically impossible in modern football. Playing for Barcelona and the Argentina national team, he scored 91 goals in a single calendar year, shattering the previous world record of 85 goals held by German legend Gerd Müller since 1972.
5. His International Debut Lasted Only 43 Seconds
Messi’s highly anticipated debut for the senior Argentina national team in 2005 was a disaster. Coming on as a substitute in a friendly match against Hungary, he was red-carded and sent off just 43 seconds after stepping onto the pitch for allegedly elbowing a defender who was pulling his shirt.
6. He Communicates Almost Exclusively via Voice Notes
Despite being one of the most famous and highly sought-after people on the planet, Messi notoriously hates talking on the phone. Close friends, including fellow Argentine striker Sergio Agüero, have confirmed that Messi routinely ignores traditional phone calls and avoids typing long texts, communicating almost entirely through WhatsApp voice notes.
7. Argentina Set Up a Fake Friendly Just to Keep Him
When Messi was a teenager making waves in Barcelona’s academy, the Spanish football federation tried to recruit him for their national team. Desperate to ensure he played for Argentina, the Argentine federation hastily arranged a makeshift, entirely untelevised under-20 friendly match against Paraguay in 2004 solely to cap-tie him so Spain could never claim him.
8. He Shares a Hometown with Che Guevara
The city of Rosario in Argentina has a highly unique historical distinction. It is the birthplace of two of the most globally recognizable, yet wildly different, Argentine figures in modern history: the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, who was born there in 1928, and the footballing icon Lionel Messi, who was born there in 1987.
9. He Overcame On-Pitch Vomiting with Bach Flowers
Around 2014, fans were heavily alarmed when Messi repeatedly vomited on the pitch during high-stakes matches. To cure this chronic issue, he secretly visited Italian sports nutritionist Giuliano Poser, who completely removed processed foods and pizza from his diet, treating him instead with kinesiology and alternative herbal Bach flower remedies.
10. His World Cup Post Broke the Internet
Following his historic 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar, Messi uploaded a carousel of photos to Instagram showing him hoisting the trophy. This post shattered the platform’s records, garnering over 74 million likes and making it the most-liked Instagram post in history, officially dethroning the picture of a simple brown egg that had previously held the record.
11. He Was Scouted by Juggling an Orange
While the story of his first contract being signed on a napkin is famous, the way he originally caught the attention of agents is even stranger. Football agent Josep Maria Minguella was reportedly convinced of Messi’s extraterrestrial talent after receiving a videotape of the young boy flawlessly juggling an orange 113 times, and then immediately juggling a tennis ball 120 times.
12. He Has a Solid Gold Replica of His Left Foot
In 2013, to commemorate his unprecedented fourth consecutive Ballon d’Or win, a Japanese jeweler named Ginza Tanaka created a solid gold, perfectly scaled replica of Messi’s left foot. The golden foot featured all of his prominent blood vessels and toe lines, weighed exactly 25 kilograms, and was valued at over $5 million, with proceeds going to charity.
13. He Refuses to Eat His Favorite Food at Restaurants
Despite having the wealth to eat at the most exclusive Michelin-star restaurants in the world, Messi’s absolute favorite meal remains Milanesa Napolitana (a breaded meat cutlet topped with ham, cheese, and tomato sauce). However, he strictly refuses to order it at restaurants, stating that absolutely no professional chef can make it better than his mother, Celia.
14. He Speaks Catalan but Completely Hides It
Messi moved to Barcelona when he was 13 years old and understands the regional Catalan language perfectly. However, he is incredibly shy about his accent and almost never speaks it in public. The one rare exception was during a tipsy Barcelona title celebration at Camp Nou, where he grabbed the microphone and proudly shouted, “Visca el Barça, visca Catalunya!”
15. He Hired His Favorite Cumbia Band for His Party
Messi has a deep, enduring love for traditional South American Cumbia music, particularly a band from his home province called “Los Palmeras.” He is such a massive fan that he personally hired them to play at his private post-World Cup celebration party in Rosario, where viral videos caught the usually reserved superstar dancing wildly with his wife.
