5 unknown things about Lionel Messi

Whenever you think of Lionel Messi, it is natural to run out of superlatives to describe how good he is. Being in a league of his own, La Pulga has continued to mesmerize football lovers for the past decade with his exquisite dribbling and passing skills. Also, even though he is now 30, the four-time Champions League winner has showed no signs of slowing down.

Over the years, Lionel Messi has turned into a global superstar and won numerous trophies under the likes of Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique at Barcelona.

Thanks to his achievements on the pitch, he enjoys a fan following of millions around the globe. As for us commoners, a possible insight into the life this legend isn't something that we would deny, would we?

That being said, let's have a glimpse of 5 such things about the Argentinian that might be unknown even to the best of his fans:

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#5 A law that bans his name

Lionel Messi's name has been banned in Rosario

Lionel Messi is one of football's greatest players ever and it is but natural for his countrymen to name their children after him. However, a law was passed in Rosario, back in 2014, that banned people from naming their kids after him.

Apparently, when Hector Varela, an Argentine parent decided to name his son after Messi, he faced opposition from the officials in the town. Varela used 'Messi' as his son's first name even though he was aware that it is a surname. He christened his son as 'Messi Daniel Varela', inviting discontent from the officials in Rosario.

In the aftermath, the officials banned all parents from using the Argentinian's name in order to avoid mass confusion and also to protect the identity of the town's favourite son.

#4 Messi's exploits at Newell's Old Boys

Lionel Messi scored over 500 goals for Newell's Old Boys

When you really have a certain kind of god-gifted talent, it is visible since a very young age. Same was the case with Lionel Messi, who switched to Newell's Old Boys at the age of six from a local club Grandoli.

Since all the players in his team were born in the same year, they collectively came to be known as 'Machine of '87'. They were a miniature version of Arsenal's Invincibles, running riot in 'baby football' -- a seven-a-side game played by children under 11 in Argentina.

Incredibly, with the skinny boy by their side, Newell's Old Boys lost just one game in four years. They made a habit of banging at least 10 to 15 games per game, so much so that opponents started putting a 6-goal limit on games. Simply put, the first team to score 6 goals would win the game.

That's not all - not yet.

Sports writer Richard Fitzpatrick once asked Adrian Coria, one of Messi's coaches at the club, whether it was true that Messi had scored more than 500 goals during those years.

"At least," Coria replied.

G.O.A.T.

#3 The tragedy that brought them closer

Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo are childhood sweet-hearts

Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo are childhood sweethearts; a fact that is well-known worldwide. But, do you have any idea about the incident that actually brought them closer? Well, here it is.

To start with, everyone is aware of the fact that Antonella is Lucas Scaglia's (Messi's teammate from Newell's Old Boys) cousin. The Barca forward was already in love with her since the tender age of nine.

But, the possibility of having a relationship than earlier than it actually started extinguished when Messi migrated to Barcelona to kickstart his football career.

However, in 2007, Antonella lost one of her friends in a car accident; the very incident that brought them closer to each other. When he came to know of the news, Messi wasted no time in flying back to Argentina to be at her side.

The relationship gained ground after that and in 2009, the Barca no.10 announced their love to the world at the age of 21.

They are currently living a happy married life with two kids and are expecting their third child.

#2 He can play the Guitar too!

Lionel Messi likes playing the guitar to release stress

Now that's really cool, don't you think?

On New Year's Eve in 2013, Messi's wife Antonella Rocuzzo uploaded a photo of herself and Messi which showed the Barcelona forward playing a guitar in their garden. Antonella, herself, could also be seen playing a toy guitar in the photo.

In 2014, the Argentinian featured in a program 'Follow Your Dreams', a project of Jose Manuel Pinto which aims at helping young and talented musicians achieve their dreams. Messi also revealed that he enjoys playing the guitar and stated as follows:

“I really like it but I still don’t know much about it. It relaxes me and it allows me to disconnect from everything.”

Also, a collaboration between music platform Deezer and FC Barcelona has granted fans the chance to find out Messi's music tastes.

Deezer released a playlist of the 30-year-old's 12 favourite musical numbers. The playlist includes several reggaeton tracks and Latin songs, showing that the player still remains close to his Argentinian roots, in spite of having settled in Barcelona since 2001.

Last but not the least, here's the 12-song playlist for all the hardcore Messi fans, courtesy Marca!

#1 Lionel Messi could have played for Real Madrid

They could have shared the pitch as teammates instead of rivals

Now that's a little hard and even weird for both sets of fans to imagine this, isn't it? Years after watching the two lock horns against each other, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could have shared the pitch as teammates if it wasn't for the move of an ex-agent of the Argentinian.

Lionel Messi migrated to Spain with the help of Horacio Gaggioli, his agent at that time.

Now, La Blaugrana were a tad bit lucky here, since Gaggioli decided to choose Barcelona over Madrid as the city to settle in. Had he chosen the Spanish capital, the entire story would have been vastly different.

"Due to life circumstances, I went to live in Barcelona, and I brought him to Barca for a trial. But I was about to live in Madrid.

"If that had happened, I would have taken him to Madrid for a trial. That's life; those are the details."

"Today, Messi could have been a Real Madrid player, of course. The family wanted to come to Spain, to the city where I was to have some support."

Gaggioli also stated that he had doubts about Messi's abilities when he first saw him. But, he was convinced after watching a 13-year-old Lionel Messi weave his magic during training sessions at the Nou Camp.