Lionel Messi and his wife Antonela Roccuzzo in May, celebrating the footballer’s collaboration with Adidas Football and Kith. Photo: @antonelaroccuzzo/Instagram
The pair met when they were kids and married in 2017 – they now have 3 sons, and she’s worked with Adidas, Alo Yoga and Dolce & Gabbana
Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, who turns 39 today, has broken records by becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading men’s goalscorer, netting two goals against Austria on Monday to lead his country to a 2-0 victory in group stage play in Dallas.
Argentina forward Lionel Messi during the 2026 Fifa World Cup match against Austria on Monday. Photo: TNS
A few days before the match, Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo took to Instagram to share a snap of herself and the couple’s three sons wearing matching Argentina jerseys, with the caption, “Vamoooos Argentina! Con vos siempre @leomessi! Sos increíble!” (Let’s goooo Argentina! With you always @leomessi! You are amazing!).
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Antonela Roccuzzo and her and Lionel Messi’s sons wearing Argentina jerseys last week. Photo: @antonelaroccuzzo/Instagram
So what do we know about the 38-year-old Mrs Messi, and what’s her life like as the wife to one of football’s biggest stars?
Antonela Roccuzzo’s fairy-tale romance with Lionel Messi
Antonela Roccuzzo at a Louis Vuitton event in New York in May. Photo: @antonelaroccuzzo/Instagram
Messi and Roccuzzo’s love story is one for the ages. The pair met when Messi was just five years old and already playing for Newell’s Old Boys, a storied Argentine football club in his hometown of Rosario. He befriended Lucas Scaglia, who happened to be Roccuzzo’s cousin, per CNN.
The future football legend left home at 13 to pursue his dream in Spain. Messi and Roccuzzo reconnected years later in 2005, when he returned to Rosario to comfort her after the death of her close friend in a car accident.
The pair confirmed their romance publicly in 2009. Messi proposed the same year, with the two eventually tying the knot in June 2017 in Rosario.
“My wife Antonela has lots of great qualities. I really admire how she deals with the day-to-day; she is always in a good mood and she approaches problems admirably. She is highly intelligent and well-rounded in all aspects of life,” Messi told FC Barcelona in 2019.
