Lionel Messi has revealed who the three children are who can freely criticize and teach the greatest superstar in history how to play football: they are his three sons.

Lionel Messi met journalist Fabrizio Romano in an exclusive interview with 433 and Apple TV. In it, the 2022 World Cup champion spoke about the importance of family and his simple hobbies as he approaches the age of “lateness”.

After almost 20 years of playing at the highest level, Messi has reached all the high points of his footballing career. In addition to 8 Ballon d’Ors, Messi has just added the Supporters’ Shield to his collection of 46 titles, thus breaking Dani Alves’ record.

Messi stated that, at the moment, he is just trying to play good football every day, without thinking too much about the future:   “I have had to change my way of playing, to adapt to my physical strength and my age. Right now, I just hope to close the season strongly and then prepare for next season. I will live, I will enjoy every day without thinking too much about the future.”

Messi and Suarez’s family celebrate winning the Supporters’ Shield with Inter Miami.

Family always comes first

During the interview, journalist Fabrizio Romano showed superstar Lionel Messi 3 photos prepared by the program. He asked Messi how he would like to be remembered by his fans among the 3 options: “The son of the family”, “A person who is always thirsty, who has won everything but still wants to conquer more” or “The Leo Messi kid in Rosario who wants to conquer the world?”

Messi immediately chose a photo of himself, his wife and his three children and said:   “It has to be family, always family.”

Responding to Romano’s question, Messi said:   “I don’t know, the truth is that people remember me the way they want. I am grateful for my career because I have achieved everything I wanted. I was lucky enough to conquer the biggest dream, the World Cup, it was very worthwhile.” 

“I have been lucky enough to win everything with Barcelona, ​​the national team, to have a wonderful life and family. I am grateful to God for everything he has given me and people can remember me however they want.”

Messi chose to sign a graphic with his wife and children.

Messi also shared that in his free time, he often plays football with his two sons. The entire Messi family’s life revolves almost around the round ball. When Messi plays football in the garden, he even receives criticism from his two sons Thiago and Mateo.

“If I have free time, I play football with my children. It’s all about football. Sometimes we play on the PlayStation, but generally we prefer to pass the ball ourselves, to touch it ourselves.

“Sometimes I have to think about giving them advice, because one of them is more irascible than the others. They even teach me how to kick the ball correctly. When the family watches one of my matches, they criticize me for a few moments   ,” Messi said about his activities with his children.

Messi has no intention of attending the 2026 World Cup

“Every time I go back to Argentina, my friends and family ask me about the possibility of participating in the 2026 World Cup. But the truth is that I haven’t thought about it yet   ,” said Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi’s presence at the 2026 World Cup is a topic of particular interest for fans. At 37, the Argentine superstar continues to make history with Inter Miami. Messi and his teammates topped the Eastern Conference standings after 34 games, winning the Supporters’ Shield with a record score of 74 points. 

As for Messi, he is among the top 5 candidates for the MLS Player of the Season award. Messi said he is only thinking about the upcoming matches, not too far into the future:   “Right now, I just want to close the season strong, then prepare for next season. From there, I will consider the next possibilities. Football has a lot of unpredictable factors. The road to the World Cup is still long, so I haven’t thought about that too much yet.”

Messi is happy with life at Inter Miami, even though he doesn’t have the chance to play in the 2026 World Cup.

As he gets older, Messi has become more relaxed in his preparations for matches. He often listens to music and drinks tea to calm down, although he himself admits that these are “nothing special” habits.

“I like to listen to music in the locker room. I drink mate there. Actually, the amount I drink depends on the time of the match. I don’t think it’s a big deal. My habits are nothing special. I also like ice cream. I’m not a salty person. I think I like sweet things, desserts more   ,” Messi said.