Barcelona and Argentina football star Lionel Messi has married Antonella Roccuzzo, who he has known since the age of 5, in his hometown city of Rosario. Footballers and showbiz celebrities attended the glitzy event.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. R. Caivano
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Argentine and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi tied the knot with his erstwhile fiancée, Antonella Roccuzzo, on Friday at a luxury hotel in the northern port city of Rosario.
Dubbed the "wedding of the century" by Argentine media, the ceremony was attended by some 260 guests, including famous footballers and showbiz personalities.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. R. Caivano
Messi's current and former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Neymar, Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol - as well as Argentine players Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria - were on the star-studded guest list.
Pique's wife and pop star Shakira also attended the wedding. Uruguayan pop bands Rombai and Marama, as well as Aguero's wife and singer Karina reportedly performed at the wedding.
About 150 journalists were also invited to the event, but they were not given access to the civil ceremony or the party afterwards.
Guests, from right: Vanessa Lorenzo, Cesc Fabregas, Daniella Semaan, Xavier Hernandez and Nuria CunilleraImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. R. Caivano
The five-time footballer of the year, widely regarded as the best footballer in the world, had a disappointing season with FC Barcelona, having lost La Liga to arch-rivals Real Madrid and the Champions League quarter-final to the Italian club Juventus.
Rosario thankful
Messi has been criticized in Argentina for failing to win a major trophy with the national team, having lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany and the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals to Chile. He briefly retired from international football following the 2016 Copa defeat.
Hundreds of fans had gathered outside the City Center casino in Rosario. Rosario residents were happy that Messi chose to wed in their city.
"We think it's great that Messi has come to Rosario to get married," said Julio Sosa, a laborer.
"Messi could have had this wedding wherever he liked - Dubai, the moon. He can pay any plane ticket for anyone, but he chose the city that's in his heart," said Leandro Macaya, another Rosario resident.
Roccuzzo is also from Rosario, and the pair met as children. They have two youngsters of their own, Thiago, 4, and Mateo, 21 months.
Messi moved to Barcelona at the age of 13 for a treatment for growth-hormone deficiency and to play for the Catalan club. He has won 31 trophies with FC Barcelona and is the highest goal scorer in the club's history.
The best players never to win an international tournament
Lionel Messi's retirement after another heartbreaking final loss means he'll never win a major tournament with Argentina. But the Barcelona star isn't alone. Some of the world's best never tasted international glory.
Image: imago/United Archives
Lionel Messi
The Barcelona superstar has been the Albiceleste’s shining light since making his international debut eleven years ago. Despite the exceptional levels of success the Argentine had with his club, he couldn’t help his country to their first piece of silverware since 1993, failing to win in the Copa America final three times, and losing to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final.
Image: GettyImages/AFP/Y. Cortez
Johan Cruyff
Another case of 'so near yet so far.' Cruyff, widely considered an all-time great, lost two consecutive World Cup finals, in 1974 and 1978. The Dutch legend did manage to get to third place in the 1976 European Championships, but he never got to replicate the success he had with both Ajax & FC Barcelona.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Zico
He may have been South American Player of the Year on three different occasions and World Player of the year once, but even though he scored a staggering 66 goals in 88 appearances with Brazil, Zico never got past the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Raul
Raul has captained the Spanish national team and scored 44 goals in 102 appearances, but unfortunately for him, this was before La Roja started winning trophies for fun. His last international appearance was on 6 September 2006 against Northern Ireland, two years before his teammates went on to win the European Championship for the first time since 1964.
Image: picture-alliance/Pressefoto Ulmer
Ferenc Puskas
The Hungarian national team of the fifties, recognized as one of the best sides of all time, didn’t lost a match for four years - and Puskas was their main man. Then came along Helmut Rahn who scored twice to win the 1954 World Cup for West Germany against the Hungarians, leaving Puskas without any international accolades.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
George Best
They used to say: “Maradona good, Pele better, George Best.” The Northern Ireland winger was one of the most talented footballers of all time and won a European Cup with his club Manchester United in 1968. However, Best did not win any international trophies for his country as Northern Ireland failed to qualify for any major tournaments during his career.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Eusebio
Many considered Eusebio to be the best player in the world after the 1966 World Cup, when his Portugal team finished in third place. But that was as close as he’s got to an international title. Luckily for him, he won many titles for his club Benfica, including ten league championships and a European Cup.
Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Stanley Matthews
'The Wizard of the Dribble' was the first recipient of the European Player of the Year award in 1956 and, incredibly, played in the English top flight until the age of 50. He only played in one World Cup in 1954, when England lost to defending champions Uruguay in the quarterfinals.
Image: picture-alliance/Bildarchiv/London Express
Paolo Maldini
His technique and positioning abilities were almost as phenomenal his looks... Paolo Maldini was one of the finest defenders of his time, but even though he managed to win many titles with his club AC Milan, he did not win any for his country Italy. He came close in 1994 when Brazil beat Italy on penalties in the final.
Image: picture-alliance/Lacy Perenyi
Uwe Seeler
Uwe Seeler played for Germany for 16 years, but only got as far as the final in 1966, where the West German team lost to England. His last international tournament was the 1970 World Cup, in which his country lost in the semis against Italy. Germany went back to winning ways two years later, winning Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup consecutively, but he was no longer part of the team.
