10 Amazing Facts About Lionel Messi

Although Lionel Messi has Spanish citizenship, he is of Italian origin. His paternal family is from the Italian city of Ancona in the Marche region.

He shares the same birthplace, Rosario, with the Argentine revolutionary, Che Guevara.

Despite his fame, he still maintains close connections with the people of Rosario, his hometown. He is also the international ambassador of Rosario.

Messi has his own version of the Hand of God goal. On 4 October 2006 in a match against Recreativo de Huelva, he scored a goal with his hand.

‘SportsPro’ has cited him as one of the world's most marketable athletes every year since 2010.

One of the world's highest-paid footballers, he was the first player to exceed the €40 million benchmark.

He has his mother’s face tattooed on his left shoulder.

He is the only player with four FIFA Ballon d'Orawards and three European Golden Shoe awards. Additionally, he won the Golden Ball award twice and the European Golden Boy award once.

Messi holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored (four in total) in Champions League.

He is known for his excessive love for food and his favorite dish is escalope Milanese.