Messi admits: They punished me by banning football
The world's best footballer revealed how his parents motivated him to study, how deeply his grandmother's death affected him when he was 11, and why he saw a psychologist in Barcelona.
The world's best footballer revealed how his parents motivated him to study, how deeply his grandmother's death affected him when he was 11, and why he saw a psychologist in Barcelona.
Leo Messi, one of the greatest footballers of all time, has shared lesser-known details about his upbringing in Rosario. In a candid interview with La Tribuna, he admitted that school was never easy for him, but also that being banned from playing football helped him become more responsible.
Messi openly admitted that he wasn't a model student at school. "I was lazy at school, I always found it difficult. Even though I behaved well. They punished me by banning football, and that made me do well at school," Messi told La Tribuna. His parents set a clear condition: if he didn't study and do his homework, he couldn't play football, which was his greatest passion. This measure forced him to concentrate and focus on his school duties so he could return to the ball.
Football was an integral part of Messi's upbringing. "I grew up with a ball for as long as I can remember. I always played with my brothers, cousins, and older people. I loved playing in the neighborhood," he recalled. However, it wasn't always easy to join the older kids. "I wanted to play with my brothers, and they wouldn't let me, and that made me really angry. My fights were about that. I spent my childhood on the street," he added.
Besides his parents, his grandmother played a crucial role in his upbringing, accompanying and encouraging him from his first football steps. Her death when Messi was just 11 deeply affected him. "We had something special; we practically spent the whole day together. She died when I was 11; I was very young, and I suffered a lot because we were very close. She was a great love for me," he said to Infobae.
Messi admitted that in Barcelona, where he later won six Ballon d'Ors, he also sought professional help. Although he usually keeps his emotions to himself, seeing a psychologist during that period, as he said, helped him a lot. It was in the Barcelona jersey that he wrote some of the brightest pages in football history and became one of the most decorated players of all time.
