Amid the victory, the most heartwarming moment came when Messi was joined by his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three sons on the field as they exchanged hugs and kisses. Roccuzzo donned a deep purple jersey with Messi’s name on it and paired it with distressed jeans and white trainers for a casual look.

Antonela Roccuzzo’s fairy-tale romance with Lionel Messi

Messi and Roccuzzo’s love story is truly one for the books. The pair met when Messi was only five years old and was already playing for the Newell’s Old Boys. He befriended Lucas Scaglia who happened to be Roccuzzo’s cousin, per CNN.

According to US Magazine, the legendary football icon then left home at 13 to pursue his dream in Spain. However, as fate would have it, the two reconnected years later in 2005 after a tragedy that involved Roccuzzo’s best friend who died in a fatal car accident and Messi returned home to comfort her.

Later, the two dated for four years before confirming their romance publicly during the 2010 World Cup, per CNN. Messi proposed the same year but they eventually tied the knot in 2017 in their gorgeous hometown of Rosario, Argentina.

“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. Aww!

Argentina's ‘wedding of the century’

At the time they got married, Messi was already a famous football star and thus they didn’t hold back for their OTT wedding.

On June 30, 2017, the couple tied the knot at a five-star hotel and casino in Santa Fe province. The celebration was attended by 260 exclusive guests, reported US Magazine.

Roccuzzo, 29 at the time, wore a Rosa Clara wedding gown with heart-shaped lace back and a sweeping train, per US Magazine.

The pair also asked their esteemed guests not to give them wedding gifts but instead to donate to the Techo organisation that helps build emergency houses in Argentina, as reported by Remezcla.

She remains humble and very low-key

According to Vanity Fair España, Roccuzzo has a bachelor’s degree in humanities and social sciences from the National University of Rosario. She also studied dentistry, but left her postgraduate studies to be closer to Messi.

The middle child of three children, she is also known for her low-key personality. A source told the same publication: “She has always had a low profile. When it became known that she was dating Messi, during the World Cup in South Africa, they had already been together for more than three years and it was very difficult to capture an image of Antonela.”

Roccuzzo’s family owns Unico supermarkets in Rosario, but despite her well-off upbringing, she still lives an ordinary life and shies away from media events. She also prefers to hang out with her childhood friends and her two sisters, also per Vanity Fair España.

She is a businesswoman and an Instagram star

In 2017, Roccuzzo launched a collaboration with fellow WAG Sofía Balbi, wife of footballer Luis Suárez, and footwear brand Sarkany. But they decided to close down the project’s Barcelona store in 2019, as reported by CNN Radio Argentina. “They [Roccuzzo and Balbi] want to dedicate themselves full-time to their children and their families,” Sarkany said, per the same source.

But Roccuzzo is still a star of her own accord. With a whopping 25 million Instagram followers at the time of writing, she has worked with fashion brands like Alo Yoga, Adidas, Dolce & Gabbana and Stella McCartney, per People magazine.

She has also been spotted attending high-profile fashion shows by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Guerlain and Dior, among others.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Roccuzzo has a reported net worth of US$20 million.

Her picture-perfect family

Messi and Roccuzzo share three boys together: Thiago (2012), Mateo (2015) and Ciro (2018). The lovebirds welcomed their first two sons before tying the knot in 2017, and then their youngest came a year after their marriage.

The doting mum is also reportedly less strict than their football superstar dad, per Sports Brief. But the reason behind Messi’s tough love is to teach their kids the value of things and so that they know they have to earn things in life and not get it easily based on their father’s name.

After Messi’s dramatic transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, the family now reportedly lives in the Neuilly-sur-Seine area, per Irish media.