Argentina just opened its 2026 World Cup campaign on June 16, playing Algeria in Kansas City in what is almost certainly Messi’s final World Cup.
While US soccer fans are watching every Argentina touch, very few know the details about the woman holding down the family in Miami, and the three boys who might one day do this all over again.
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This article covers the five facts about Antonela Roccuzzo and the Messi children that most outlets skip entirely.
Antonela Roccuzzo and Messi Reconnected After a Friend’s Death, Not at a School or Party
Most coverage says they were childhood sweethearts. That is only half the story.
Messi met Antonela through his best friend Lucas Scaglia, Antonela’s cousin. They were young kids in Rosario, playing around the neighborhood. When Messi moved to Spain at 13 to join Barcelona’s youth academy, that connection faded.
What brought them back together was grief. In 2005, a close friend of Antonela’s died in a car accident.
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Messi heard about it and flew back to Argentina to be with her. From that point, they stayed in contact across two different countries for years before going public as a couple in 2009.
A former teammate, Rodrigo Vittor, who also grew up in Rosario and knew both of them, later told Infobae that even as young kids there was something visible between them. “When they were together, there was already a mischievous look,” Vittor said.
Thiago, 13, Is Already Playing for Inter Miami’s Academy, but He Was Not Originally a Soccer Kid
Thiago joined the Inter Miami U-12 academy in 2023 and is now with the U-14 MLS Next program.
Here is the part most outlets miss: for a long time, Thiago was not particularly interested in soccer at all.
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Messi said in a 2017 TyC Sports interview that while Thiago’s friend Benjamin, Luis Suarez’s son, was “football crazy,” Thiago was into cars and motorcycles. “He likes football, but just a bit. He plays a bit, and he gets tired,” Messi said at the time.
The same kid is now training in a professional academy system in Florida. He wore number 10 in academy matches, the same number his father wears for Inter Miami and Argentina.
Messi Once Called Mateo, 10, a “Son of a B**” in the Best Possible Way**
Mateo was born September 11, 2015. He is right-footed, well-coordinated, and by his father’s own description, the opposite of Thiago in every way.
In a widely circulated interview, Messi described Mateo bluntly: “Mateo is terrible. Mateo is a character.”
He then called him “un hijo de p***” in the Argentine colloquial sense, meaning the kid is something else entirely in terms of personality and ability. Messi said Mateo reminded him of himself as a child.
Mateo also plays for the Inter Miami youth academy. In 2025, a video went viral of Messi watching Mateo score from the sideline.
Messi stood with his hands in his pockets and gave a slight smirk while other parents jumped out of their seats.
Antonela Roccuzzo Built a $20 Million Career That Has Nothing to Do with Being Messi’s Wife
Antonela started studying dentistry at the National University of Rosario, then switched to social communication, and eventually left university altogether.
She moved to Barcelona in 2012 to live with Messi, and that is where she built her own career.
By early 2026, her personal estimated net worth reached $20 million. She holds brand deals with Adidas, Alo Yoga, Stella McCartney, and Tiffany.
In February 2026, Anastasia Beverly Hills named her Global Brand Ambassador for the year. She co-founded a children’s clothing brand called Enfans Argentina with her sister Paula.
She also holds ambassador roles for UNICEF and the Special Olympics, and in a 2025 Vogue interview, she said her focus for the year was a project connected to early childhood education access in Argentina.
She has over 40 million Instagram followers and told interviewers she now schedules all professional obligations in the morning so that afternoons stay reserved for the three boys.
The Entire Messi Family Is Now Based in Miami, Making This the First World Cup Where They Don’t Travel Across the World
Messi signed with Inter Miami in July 2023. Antonela and all three children relocated to Miami with him. Ciro, the youngest, was born in March 2018 and is 8 years old.
For every World Cup before this one, from Germany in 2006 to Qatar in 2022, the family traveled internationally to watch from the stands. In 2026, the tournament is in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
For Argentina’s group stage matches in Kansas City and Dallas, the family does not need to cross an ocean.
Just before the tournament opened, Antonela tagged Messi in an Instagram post about his Adidas and Kith collaboration: “Forever in awe of everything you do.”
The family also visited Universal Studios and Walt Disney World in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
Messi told Luzu TV on June 1 that at home he needs moments of solitude to decompress. “I really like being alone.
The mess at home with the three kids running around everywhere ends up saturating me,” he said. Antonela, who has heard this before, has publicly said she tolerates it without much complaint.
