Lionel Messi celebrates World Cup win with his family after taking Argentina to glory against France

Lionel Messi celebrated with his overjoyed family as Argentina took victory at the World Cup final against France.

The star player’s three sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro bundled onto the pitch with excitement just moments before the epic trophy lift.

Messi’s childhood sweetheart, Antonella Roccuzzo, also followed them – she has been by his side at every major win including the Ballon d’Or a record seven times in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2021. 

The 35-year-old player scored twice in the game before the team won 4-2 on penalties. 

The team’s win has been argued to be crucial in silencing debate around Messi being the best soccer player ever – moving him ahead of other players such as Pele, Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It also comes after Messi received a letter of encouragement from his 10-year-old son, Thiago, which included insults aimed at England ahead of the game.

 The letter read: ‘Boys, now we are excited again, I want to win the third, I want to be world champion, and we can see Diego from heaven, with Don Diego and La Tota, rooting for Lionel.’

Messi met his wife Antonella when he was only five years old – she is the cousin of one of his boyhood friends – in La Rosario, Argentina

The win comes after Messi received a letter of encouragement from his 10-year-old son which included insults aimed at England ahead of the game

Messi met his wife Antonella when he was only five years old – she is the cousin of one of his boyhood friends – in La Rosario, Argentina.

They married during 2017 in their hometown around 200 miles away from Buenos Aires.

Guests at their wedding checked into the five-star, 188-room Pullman Hotel in the city, with teammates Gerard Pique, and then pop star wife Shakira, Luis Suarez and Neymar attending the glitzy nuptials. 

Antonela wore a lavish dress by Spanish designer Rosa Clara, known for her A-list bridal gowns. 

With her own designer fashion range, and a close-knit set of WAG friends, Antonela’s current luxe life is a far cry from her childhood in Rosario, in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. 

In 2019, an Argentinian newspaper La Capital uncovered a touching picture showing the footballer and the mum of their three sons as children nearly two decades before they became man and wife, enjoying themselves in the Atlantic holiday resort of Punta Mogotes.

Messi left his home country when he was just 13 to join Barcelona’s prestigious La Masia youth academy, where he honed the skills that have made him one of the greats.