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Lionel Messi's wife Antonela Roccuzzo shared a beautiful family picture as they celebrated his 36th birthday on Saturday, June 24.
The Argentine icon turned a year older on Saturday. He cut a cake with Antonela and their three children, Thiago (11), Mateo (8), and Ciro (5). Antonela shared a picture of the family on her Instagram account with the caption:
"Happy Birthday my love @leomessi !!! We love you infinitely [red heart emoji]"
Lionel Messi and Antonela Roccuzzo have known each other since childhood. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner got introduced to his now-wife via his friend Lucas, who happened to be her cousin.
The couple became good friends before Messi's family left Argentina and moved to Barcelona in 2000. With staying in contact much more difficult in those days, they drifted apart a little.
However, after one of Antonela's friend passed away in 2005, Lionel Messi flew to Argentina to be with her. The former Barcelona forward returned to Spain soon after but they got into a relationship in 2007.
They got married in 2017 with some of the biggest names in football like Neymar Jr. and Luis Suarez attending the wedding.
The couple will now continue their life in the United States of America, with Messi joining MLS side Inter Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.
Lionel Messi on whether FIFA World Cup win has changed his life
Lionel Messi captained Argentina to their third FIFA World Cup title in 2022, as they beat France on penalties in the final in Qatar. The 36-year-old won the Golden Ball award, scoring seven goals and providing three assists.
With the win, the forward has won almost every trophy available at the club and international level. However, he isn't letting such achievements change his daily life or his training.
In an interview with beIN Sports, he said:
“In my day-to-day life or in training and games, it hasn’t really changed anything at all. The only thing that I can say is that I am, that we are world champions, that we have one more star going down in the history of the World Cup and that as I said before I have nothing left to achieve, I’ve achieved everything.”
Many labeled Lionel Messi as the greatest footballer of all time after his FIFA World Cup triumph. He has also won a record seven Ballons d'Or and is in contention to win the award this season as well.
He had a productive campaign with Paris Saint-Germain, contributing 20 goals and 21 assists in 41 games across competitions and winning the Ligue 1 title.
