Early life in Home Town
Lionel Messi was born in Argentina and came from a low-income family. His father was a factory steelworker, and his mother was a part-time cleaner.
Nevertheless, he grew up surrounded by love and support. Messi developed an extraordinary passion for football very early in his life.
So at the age of five, he started playing soccer for a neighborhood club, coached by his father, and while he was eight, he joined the NuVal old boys club.
Messi grew up very close to his grandmother. So when she passed away, he was in lots of pain.
He was so unhappy that he did not want to play soccer for weeks. But after his father started pushing him to continue to play, he returned to the field; however, he was determined more than ever.
Messi Football Journey and Challenge
To make his grandmother proud of him. He dreamed of becoming an expert football player. Still, that dream started to collapse while he was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency.
This meant that he was physically not able to grow until he received unique, highly-priced therapy that cost USD 900 per month.
Unfortunately, his parents couldn’t afford it. And the club he played for refused to pay for the treatment. But even though Messi was the shortest player on his team, his love for football was limitless.
Young Messi still marching on
So Messi wasn’t discouraged. This obstacle didn’t stop his mess. His talent was so undeniable. That football club started noticing him.
River Place showed a significant interest in Messi but lacked the money to sponsor his medical treatment.
Barcelona finds Young Lionel
So, in the end, they rejected him because of his medical condition. But soon, Messi was noticed by the coach of Football Club Barcelona; he sent an offer to meet his family.
He proposed the trial period to see that Messi is worth the hype. If you pass the trial, the club will cover his medical bills. But on one condition, Messi needs to leave his hometown and move to Spain.
When his teammates saw him for the first time, they looked at him in disbelief at how short he was.
But when he went on the field, they were shocked at how good and talented he was. And the coach was blown away by message abilities and talent.
He knew that he was born to play football, so he offered him a contract that would change his life forever on the only thing he had at the moment, a paper napkin, so messi signed his first Barcelona contract was written on a napkin, and the rest is history till today.
He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona. Messi is a goal machine and is often considered the best player in the world. At 22 Messi won the prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year Award.
He has record-tying six Ballon d’Or awards and the record Six European golden shoes, and the Barcelona superstar has been named the highest-paid athlete in the world according to Forbes.
Currently Lionel Messi net worth is USD 400 million. There are so many lessons to be learned from his success story, a man who, despite his health problems, poor financial background, and all the rejections he faced, was still determined to achieve his dream and never give up.
So what is the secret to his success?
The secret behind his enormous success is that there is no secret. You need to work on yourself every single day. Mess is remarkable success did not come by accident or from pure luck.
He worked extremely hard and gave up many things to become who he is today. You have to fight to reach your dream.
You have to sacrifice and work hard for it. I start early, and they stay late daily, year after year. It took me 17 years in 114 days to become an overnight success. Give everything you’ve got and start working on your dreams today.
Credit: Abdullah al-sahil