Lionel Messi turns 30: Five things you may not know about the Barcelona genius

Sport360 staff 11:58 24/06/2017
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  • Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi turns 30 on Saturday.

    His prolific goalscoring for club and country has made him a global superstar, but there is more to the man from Rosario than meets the eye.

    Here are five things you might not know about the mercurial Messi.

    A NITTY NICKNAME

    ‘La Pulga’ is not a familiar term to most British football fans but in Spain and Argentina the moniker is synonymous with Messi.

    It means ‘The Flea’ as the diminutive forward is a constant pest during games and, as the opposition try and fail to swat him away, he is likely to bite them at any time.

    Celebrating a goal: Lionel Messi

    Celebrating a goal: Lionel Messi

    GROWING PAINS

    Messi stands at 5ft 7in partly because of a growth hormone deficiency, with which he was diagnosed when he was 11 and already a star youth performer with Newell’s Old Boys.

    The Argentinian club were unable to provide serious funding for his treatment and it was not until he sealed a switch to Barca in 2001 that he was able to take regular injections of hormones to aid his development.

    In his early days: Lionel Messi

    In his early days: Lionel Messi

    TATTOOED TALENT

    Messi has numerous tattoos, including a rose window inspired by Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia church on his right arm, as well as his mother’s face on his shoulder blade and the hand prints of his first child Thiago on his calf, among other adornments.

    A few visible tattoos on Messi's left leg.

    A few visible tattoos on Messi’s left leg.

    MESSIWORLD?

    In early 2019 a new theme park will open in Nanjing, China. There will be 81,000 square metres of football-based attractions with an intention to “immerse visitors in Messi’s universe.”

    Yes, the Messi Experience Park is in development but Chinese day-trippers cannot expect to see too much of the Barca star around the site. “Hopefully they will feel that I am around when visiting the park,” he said during a trip to China earlier this month.

    Messi speaks during a news conference in China.

    Messi speaks during a news conference in China.

    DO CRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA

    Despite his innumerable successes with Barcelona, Messi has experienced little real joy across his 118 appearances for Argentina. His international career started well enough as he won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2005 and an Olympic gold medal three years later.

    But he has twice tasted defeat in the Copa America final and was on the losing side when Argentina met Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. Now, even at 30, he will still have opportunities to guide La Albiceleste to silverware.

    Picture says it all: Still waiting for success with the national team, Messi.

    Picture says it all: Still waiting for success with the national team, Messi.

    Provided by Press Association Sport

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