The official number for Lionel Messi’s height is 5 feet 7 inches (67 inches or 170 cm). Because of this, many people think of him as one of his generation’s most minor football players.
Lionel Messi is one of the best football players in the world. He has a place in the hearts of soccer fans and in the history books of greatness that is hard to beat. The football star is a skilled forward who can cut through opponents and tight spaces on the field with great speed and agility.
Messi has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or six times (in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019) and 34 trophies with Barcelona, his favorite team. There are 10 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League titles, and 6 Copa del Rey titles.
As of the time this article was written, the star player had scored 35 hat-tricks in La Liga, 433 goals in La Liga, and helped his teammates 177 times during competitive games. Lionel had put the ball in the goal for his country a few times when he was not playing for Barcelona. This made the Argentine football body and fans like him even more.
Here are some lesser-known facts about the famous forward’s height, weight, body stats, and history of height treatment. His left foot is strong, he works well with his teammates on the field, and his career timeline is intimidating.
Early Life of Messi
Lionel Messi is the name most people know him by, but his full name is Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini. He was born on June 24, 1987, in a town in Argentina called Rosario. His mother, Celia Cuccittini, worked at a factory that made magnets. His father, Jorge Messi, worked at a steel factory. He was of Spanish and Italian descent.
In 2001, he joined Barcelona’s youth team. From 2003 to 2004, he played for Barca’s team C, then from 2004 to 2005, he played for the club’s team B, making a total of 32 appearances and scoring 11 goals. Lionel Messi joined FC Barcelona’s first team in 2004. Since then, he has played more than 460 games and scored more than 430 goals for the team.
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How Tall Is Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi has shown a lot of originality, skill, and professionalism in the way he plays football. Still, he is widely thought to be one of his generation’s most minor football players. Height is definitely an advantage on the field, but Messi has done well despite his short stature and low center of gravity.
Messi’s official height is given as 5 feet 7 inches, but the Wall Street Journal says the football player is not that tall. With the help of his small size, the Argentine forward has perfected the art of breaking through defenders while dribbling and squeezing between players without fear or hesitation.
Has Lionel Messi grown taller in recent years?
Yes, Lionel Messi grew taller after he was diagnosed with a rare lack of growth hormone when he was young. Messi was a talented soccer player when he was young, but he was very fragile and much shorter than his friends in his hometown.
When he was ten and told he had Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD), it was clear he needed help immediately to fix his height. The cost of treating the disease was estimated to be $1,000 per month, which was too much for his family, and the local team’s River Plate and Newell’s Old Boys, who were interested in him at first, dropped out because of the cost.
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FC Barcelona finally paid for Lionel Messi’s treatment to show how much they wanted him. They did this with the help of Josep Maria Minguella, Charly Rexach, and Joan Lacueva, who are all part of the club’s management.
The legendary Argentine football player finished his treatment when he was 14 years old. He then signed his first professional contract with Barcelona on a paper napkin. Messi’s growth hormone helped his football career and ensured his height matched his strength, speed, and agility on the field.
The injections also helped him with other problems inside of him, such as poor vision, tooth and skin problems, a weak immune system, and pituitary function. Before the treatment, the Barca talisman was only 4 feet 2 inches tall, but now he is 5 feet 7 inches tall, even though he is still considered short and small.
The public knows about the footballer’s GHD, but there is another part of his health that has not been confirmed and is not as well known. Some people think that the Barca forward who wears No. 10 was slightly autistic when he was young and was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome when he was eight years old.
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Even though this claim is mostly just speculation, the fact that Lionel Messi was called “the quiet little one” because he could not make friends with his teammates as a child could mean that it has some truth. Lionel Messi’s fantastic football skills put him above any controversy or flaw.
Also, the fact that Barcelona gave him a chance is still one of the biggest bets in football history.
What did Lionel Messi do to improve, and how did it work?
People with GHD often have fragile bones and low bone density. Lionel Messi was very fragile and short, so many teams did not want to sign him because they were not sure if he would be an excellent addition to their team.
Regarding the method(s) used to treat him, there are no detailed accounts of the whole process. However, we know that growth hormones are usually injected into the body to treat GHD. As for how it works, it is treated with therapy that goes on all the time for at least two years.
Messi’s growth hormone therapy costs Barcelona about $1500 per month for the injections, which is known. After joining FC Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy, the footballer was able to reach an average height with the help of medical treatment from experts.
How well does the treatment work, and do other athletes use it?
The exact cause of GHD is not well known, but brain tumors, radiation therapy, and infections are some of the most common. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) therapy is effective and safe for people with GHD and other conditions that cause short stature, like Turner Syndrome
It is against the law for athletes, especially in the U.S., to use substances that mimic human growth hormones. This is because it also helps ordinary people do better at what they do.
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Normal athletes who go through the treatment process do so primarily to get physical benefits or a competitive edge, which is usually frowned upon by sports officials. The International Olympic Committee banned HGH for use in sports for the first time in 1989, even though it is abused in all levels of sports.