Inside Lionel Messi’s movie-worthy romance with childhood sweetheart Antonela as they arrive in Miami to launch their MLS career

A soccer superstar has washed up on US shores, but all eyes were on his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, who has become famous in her own right.

But with her playing the role of adored wife when Messi was finally introduced as an Inter Miami player over the weekend, it hasn’t always been easy for the couple who now share three children: Thiago, Matteo and Ciro.

The couple met when they were around five years old in Argentina. Messi was a childhood friend of Roccuzzo’s cousin, Lucas Scagilia.

It is said that when Messi first saw her back in the early 1990s, he asked: “Who is she?”

‘Antonela, my cousin’ was Scagilia’s response.

According to Scagilia’s father, Messi “couldn’t take his eyes off her for a second.”

She visited the neighborhood for two days and Messi knew immediately that he wanted to be with her forever.

Every time he stayed at Scagilia’s house, Messi would find an excuse to visit her in hopes of seeing her.

Often this would be on the weekends. He wrote her love letters and told her that when they both grew up she would be her girlfriend.

Roccuzzo would watch Messi and his cousin play for Newell’s Old Boys club in their youth.

As his career blossomed, Messi moved to Barcelona when he was 13, but the pair kept in touch.

Five years later, tragedy brought them back together. Roccuzzo was devastated when her best friend, Ursula Notz, was killed in a car accident in 2005.

The couple met when they were about five years old. Messi was a childhood friend of Roccuzzo’s cousin Lucas Scagilia

According to Scagilia’s father, Messi ‘couldn’t take his eyes off her for a second’

As his career blossomed, Messi moved to Barcelona when he was 13, but the pair remained in contact.

Messi was so worried about his childhood crush that he flew back to Argentina to comfort her.

It was this act of love that brought the couple together and they became a couple soon after.

But Roccuzzo, then 18, wasn’t ready to move to Barcelona and stayed in Argentina to earn her degree in humanities and social sciences.

He then went on to study his postgraduate degree in dentistry at the National University of Rosario, but dropped out after six months to be closer to Messi, according to Vanity Fair Spain.

The couple’s relationship was not made public until 2009.

In the Hat Trick Barça soccer chat on the Catalan channel TV3 in January 2009, Messi was asked if he was in a relationship.

He replied: ‘Yes, I have a girlfriend. She is in Argentina. The truth is that I’m fine and I’m relaxed.

Just a few months later the couple went public during a carnival in Sitges after the local Barcelona-Espanyol derby.

Roccuzzo was devastated when her best friend, Ursula Notz, died in a car accident in 2005. Messi was so worried about her that he flew back to Argentina to comfort her.

The couple’s relationship was not made public until 2009 and they now have three children together.

Messi and Roccuzzo got married in 2017 in their hometown of Rosario, Argentina.

It was described as Argentina’s ‘wedding of the century’ and featured a guest list of 260 people, including footballers Neymar, Luis Suárez and Gerard Piqué.

Roccuzzo eventually moved to Barcelona to be with his soccer boyfriend and gave up his career aspirations of being a dentist to be with Messi.

The following year, Messi proposed to his longtime love and welcomed son Thiago two years later.

In 2015, Mateo was born, and the couple married two years later, in 2017, 25 years after they first met, in their hometown of Rosario at a luxury hotel.

It was described as Argentina’s “wedding of the century” and featured a guest list of 260 people, including footballers Neymar, Luis Suárez and Gerard Piqué, who arrived on a private jet with their then-partner, Colombian pop star Shakira.

The bride wore a dress by Rosa Clara, a Barcelona-based designer who has dressed actress Eva Longoria and Queen Letizia of Spain.

A year later the couple had another son, Ciro. His family also includes two dogs, a French mastiff named Mr. Hulk and a more timid cockapoo named Abu.

And the love of a couple has endured, with Messi sprouting in 2019: ‘My wife, Antonela, has many qualities. I really admire how she carries her day to day, she is always in a good mood and approaches problems in an admirable way. She is very intelligent and complete in all aspects of life.’

The 35-year-old has become a savvy businesswoman, leveraging her more than 36.1 million followers on Instagram.

She has become one of the most famous women in South America through her philanthropic efforts and the owner of a children’s fashion brand.

The 35-year-old has become a savvy businesswoman, leveraging her more than 36.1 million followers on Instagram.

The couple with their children -Ciro, Mateo and Thiago- photographed with them in 2021

Those who know Roccuzzo say that she is “humble, modest and enjoys nothing more than being at home with her children and her two beloved dogs.” The couple photographed in 2010.

Those who know Roccuzzo say that she is “humble, modest and enjoys nothing more than being at home with her children and her two beloved dogs.”

Thirty years later, the couple share several homes, including a $13 million mansion on the outskirts of Barcelona with views of both the beautiful Catalan hills and the Mediterranean coastline.

There are others in Ibiza, Miami and his hometown of Rosario in Argentina. There they have a house called La Fortaleza with 25 rooms, including a game room for the children Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.

It is, according to friends, where the Messi plan to retire. And that would bring the attractive couple full circle when they met in 1993.

While Messi is believed to have been offered a $60 million a year contract with Inter Miami, Roccuzzo makes millions as a social media influencer.

Companies go out of their way to hire her to sell their products in exchange for a big paycheck.

They include Alo Yoga, Dolce & Gabbana, Guerlain, Dior and Louis Vuitton.