Ciro Messi Roccuzzo is a five-year-old Argentine media personality, born to Argentine soccer player, businessman and philanthropist, Lionel Messi, and his wife, Argentine model, social media personality, and charity ambassador Antonela Roccuzzo.
Early life
Ciro Messi Roccuzzo was born on 10 March 2018 in Spain. He has two older brothers, Thiago Messi Roccuzzo, born on 2 November 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, and Mateo Messi Roccuzo, born on 11 September 2015, also in Barcelona.
Parents
Ciro’s father is Lionel Andrés “Leo” Messi Cuccittini, born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. He moved to Spain at 13, signed with the football club (FC) Barcelona, and played his first match in 2004. Leo debuted as a senior soccer player for Argentina’s national team in August 2005, and in the following year, he became the youngest Argentine player to score in the FIFA World Cup competition.
Leo notably transitioned to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) FC in 2021 and Inter Miami CF in 2023, and is rated one of the best soccer players of all time. He broke two significant records: for the number of European Golden Shoes a player has received, six, and for winning eight Ballon d’Or trophies, the most by a player, and being the first player to score 200 goals in La Liga, which he managed at 25.
Ciro’s mother, Antonela “Anto” Roccuzzo, was also born in Rosario on 26 February 1988. She lived a private life until 2016 but since then has amassed over 39 million followers on her Instagram account, antonelaroccuzzo. Furthermore, Antonela modeled for brands such as Alo Yoga, Adidas, and Sarkany. She’s also focused on philanthropy, particularly being the ambassador for organizations such as the Special Olympics and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
His parents’ love story
Ciro’s parents have known each other since they were kids. Antonela’s cousin and best friend, Lucas Scaglia, introduced them, as Antonela was shy, and Leo hesitated to approach her despite having a crush on her. Unfortunately, their paths separated until 2005, when Antonela’s friend died in a car crash, and Leo flew back to be by her side.
While Leo was pursuing his career, Antonela worked on her bachelor’s in humanities and social sciences. She later switched to studying dentistry at the National University of Rosario, but eventually graduated with a degree in social communication.
Leo and Antonela started dating in 2007, publicly acknowledged their relationship in 2009, and became engaged the following year. However, they delayed their wedding ceremony until July 2017, when they tied the knot in Rosario.
Other family, ancestry
Ciro has two paternal uncles, Rodrigo, who helped Leo develop his passion and talent for soccer, and Matias. His paternal aunt is named Maria Sol. His uncles run his father’s brand, and Matias focuses on operating the Leo Messi Foundation charity. Maria works with her family but is better known as the social media personality whose Instagram account, mariasolmessi, has amassed over 420,000 followers. According to The Famous People, Ciro has two maternal aunts, Carla and Paula Roccuzzo.
Based on EthniCelebs.com ancestry analysis, Ciro’s paternal grandparents are Jorge Horacio Messi Pérez, a steel factory manager, and Celia María Cuccittini, who worked as a cleaner part-time. His paternal great-grandfathers are Eusebio Italo Messi Baró and Antonio Cuccittini, and his paternal great-grandmothers are Celia Ramona Oliveira and Rosa María Pérez Mateu.
Ciro’s maternal grandparents are Patricia Blanko, a homemaker, and Jose Roccuzzo, a businessman. Ciro is of Argentine ethnicity but has Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and possibly other roots on his father’s side, and is of Italian descent on his maternal side.
Career
Ciro is too young to choose a career, but has unwittingly appeared in media reports, his parent’s social media posts, and, surprisingly as part of a conspiracy theory. Leo announced his birth via Instagram, writing, ‘Welcome Ciro! Thank God everything went perfectly, and he and his mother are doing well; we are delighted.’ The Sun UK noted that ‘he looked like a spitting image of his father as a kid.’
FourFourTwo then discovered that, according to Chinese fans, Ciro’s name, translated phonetically in Standard Chinese, is almost identical to soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo’s name translated into Mandarin. Some saw this information as a poorly planned distraction from Leo Messi getting sentenced to 21 months in prison for committing tax fraud, and keeping about $4.6 million from the Spanish government. He appealed the decision, and the judge changed his sentence to an additional fine in July 2017.
Furthermore, social media users started a conspiracy theory that claimed that Ciro’s birth was a distraction from Leo’s crime. El Futbolero US reported that people noticed Ciro’s absence from family photos within the first year of his life. That led people to declare that Ciro was a baby actor, died at birth, or was absorbed by an evil twin in the womb.
Antonela angrily disputed the theory, saying that she couldn’t believe the ridiculousness of the allegations. Leo declined to comment, instead posting a picture of Ciro’s first birthday cake covered in fruits, and shared that his son enjoyed dancing, showing that Ciro was alive and well.
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Television debut, other mentions
According to Ciro’s IMDb profile, he made his uncredited debut in the “Ballon d’Or 2019” television special. He returned to television by being in the audience during the “Ballon d’Or 2021” television broadcast. However, one of the earliest mentions of Ciro in media after his birth was a large tattoo on Leo’s left calf. He has the birthdates and names of his wife and children tattooed in strips around his calf, and has added Ciro’s towards the end of 2018. Antonela had Ciro’s name in cursive tattooed on her outer forearm, and proudly presented it in social posts in early 2019.
Ciro was also present in pictures that his parents uploaded for Christmas in 2020. He and his family sat in red pajamas in front of three giant Christmas trees, but Ciro seemed distracted and was sucking on his pacifier. Consequently, Leo and Antonela uploaded pictures of the family eating lunch and dinner in restaurants, swimming or relaxing by the pool at home, or in vehicles on family vacations. Ciro and his brothers enjoyed drinking hot chocolate, and Leo revealed that Ciro liked Batman.
Ciro’s presence also became notable during the December 2022 FIFA World Cup finale, during which both Argentina and France scored three goals, forcing them to start the penalty shoot-out. He did not immediately enter the field with his brothers after Argentina won 4-2. When he did, Ciro did not wear the jersey with his father’s name and number 10 on the back, unlike his brothers.
According to People, Antonela posted photos with Messi and their three children after the event and emphasized how proud they are of him. Leo noted that this wasn’t his first World Cup but that he was delighted with the victory because his sons could understand and enjoy his triumphs more. Perhaps because Antonela recognized the missed opportunity or acknowledged the criticism, she dressed Ciro in his father’s jersey with the number 10 for his fifth birthday. Moreover, in October 2023, Ciro and his brothers attended the ceremony during which his father accepted his eighth Ballon d’Or trophy.
Playing soccer
Judging by the home videos that Leo uploaded to his social media accounts, during the first three to four years, Ciro observed his brothers and father while they played soccer. MARCA reported in April 2020 that he joined Leo during home workouts, albeit only to count pushups and sit-ups.
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All three brothers can choose to play for Spain or Argentina nationally due to their birthplace. Mateo and Thiago joined the Paris Saint Germain youth soccer academy in 2021 and transitioned to Inter Academy in September 2023; Mateo played for the youth team, and Thiago joined the Under-12 team. Whenever Ciro joined them on the field after friendly matches in the second half of 2023, Leo’s fans praised his endurance and goal-keeping skills. However, it’s unclear if he officially joined the Inter Miami youth academy.
Ciro’s dedication was apparent; the media reported that he had to wear a cast in June 2023 because he’d fractured his left hand. CBS Sports Golazo declared that ‘he was ready to put his body on the line’ after he tackled others, then got tackled on his way to scoring a goal during one training session.
Based on his reflexes, some compare Ciro to Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. MARCA posted a video from the training with Leo and Mateo, in which Ciro performed a bicycle kick, a challenging acrobatic strike in soccer that involves a player kicking a ball rearwards in midair. Thus, he has the potential to be an offensive player.
Personality
Leo told FC Barcelona in 2017 that having children changed his perspective on life and helped him grow. However, he admitted that he still enjoys staying at home and watching cartoons and movies on TV with them, as his sons always control the remote. Leo also clarified that he would never push his interests on his children. He proved that when Thiago showed disinterest in anything related to soccer for the first three or four years of his life, so Leo didn’t buy any balls or make him play with those at home.
Leo also mentioned to Goal.com in 2017 that Thiago and Mateo have contrasting personalities. He elaborated that Thiago was a phenomenon, a wonderfully well-behaved little boy, who besides being obsessed with soccer, enjoys cars and motorcycles. On the other hand, he jokingly called Mateo ‘a terror and a son of a b*tch.’ Leo revealed to MARCA in 2019 that Ciro’s personality is similar to Mateo’s, or maybe worse.
Other interests
Ciro and his brothers attended their first tennis class in February 2022, suggesting that at least one wants to try a different sport. In January 2023, Antonela posted photos of the family’s winter vacation, which showed that Ciro enjoyed skiing with his brothers.
According to The US Sun, he also loves spending time with the dog that the family got in October 2020, a toy poodle named Abú. Ciro also bonded with the Bordeaux Mastiff named Hulk that Leo and Antonela adopted in 2016. Unfortunately, due to his age, the family decided to leave Hulk with family members in Barcelona when moving to Miami.
Ciro appeared in an episode of the “Amistoso Argentina” television mini-series in March 2023, and he and his brothers met singer Ed Sheeran in October.
Physical characteristics
Ciro has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He is 3ft 7.5ins (1.1m) tall, and weighs about 40lbs (18kgs).
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