Lionel Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo: from childhood sweethearts to the 2026 World Cup

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.

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!).

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

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.
Argentina’s “wedding of the century”

Messi was already an international football superstar when he and Roccuzzo wed. The celebration, held at a five-star hotel and casino, was attended by just 260 guests, reported Us Weekly.
Dubbed “the wedding of the century” by local newspapers, it was attended by many of Messi’s football teammates, including Luis Suárez, Neymar and Gerard Piqué, along with pop star Shakira.

Roccuzzo, who was 29 at the time, wore a Rosa Clara wedding gown with a heart-shaped lace back and a sweeping train, per Us Weekly.
The couple asked their guests not to give them wedding gifts but instead donate to non-profit organisation Techo, which builds emergency houses in Argentina, per Remezcla.
She remains humble and low-key

Roccuzzo has a degree in humanities and social sciences from the National University of Rosario. She also studied dentistry, but left the programme to move to Spain with Messi.
“She has always kept a low profile,” a source once told Vanity Fair España. “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, yet despite her well-off upbringing and superstar husband, she appears to shy away from media events. She enjoys spending time hanging out with her childhood friends as well as her two sisters, per Vanity Fair España.
She is a businesswoman and Instagram star

In 2017, Roccuzzo launched a collaboration with fellow WAG Sofía Balbi, the wife of Luis Suárez, and footwear brand Sarkany. But the pair decided to close the project’s Barcelona store in 2019, per CNN Radio Argentina. “They want to dedicate themselves full time to their children and their families,” Sarkany said.
But Roccuzzo is still a star in her own right. With a whopping 40 million Instagram followers at the time of writing, she has worked with fashion brands like Alo Yoga, Dolce & Gabbana and Stella McCartney, per People magazine.
She has been spotted at high-profile fashion shows by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Guerlain and Dior. She also recently collaborated with Adidas on its new Optimé leggings.
Her picture-perfect family

Messi and Roccuzzo share three boys: Thiago (born 2012), Mateo (2015) and Ciro (2018). The lovebirds welcomed their first two sons before tying the knot in 2017.
In 2023, Thiago joined Messi at Inter Miami’s under-12 team for the 2023-24 youth academy season.