Atopela Roccυzzo did not know that when she met a young man who dreamed of being a footballer when she was barely dead, she would be cheering on the best player…
Not to mention that she became possibly the most famous woman in South America. Today she is a philanthropist, a multimillionaire inflator, a fashion brand owner and an animal lover.
He is also a track player, although he gave that advantage to the Argentine striker when he began his journey at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain to become the richest and best footballer in the world.
Liopel Messi and his wife Atopela Rccυzzo met when they were just five and had three children and together they earned a million dollars.
Nearly 30 years after his first face-to-face meeting with Messi, Atopela, mother of the superstar’s three titles, will be hoping the 35-year-old will lead Argentina to victory over defending champions France and Qatar today.
It would seal the perfect start to her glorious career, securing her whatever free time she has left in the game. Those who know Atopela, 34, say she is “humble, modest and enjoys nothing more than being at home with her toys and two beloved dogs.”
Of course, there are several houses. They include a £10 million plot just outside Barcelona with views of both the beautiful Catalan hills and the Mediterranean coast.
There are others in Ibiza, Miami, and their hometown of Rosario in Argentina. There they have a house called La Fortaleza with 25 rooms, including a playroom for the children Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.
It is, according to friends, where the Messis plan to retire. And that would take the beautiful couple full circle to when they met in 1993, when their fairytale romance ended.
Messi and his wife own several homes, including a £10m plot just outside Barcelona with views of both the beautiful Catalan hills and the Mediterranean coast.
Because their love story, particularly compared to that of most footballers who used to meet their WAGs in flashy nightclubs or on social media, is just that.
Aptopel is the coυsiп of Messi’s friend 30 31 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, Lυcas Scagilia.
Back in the early 1990s, when the future footballer saw her for the first time, he asked her: “Who is she?” “Aptoela, my coυsiп,” Scagilia replied.
According to Scagilia’s father, Messi “couldn’t take his eyes off her for even a second.” She visited the neighborhood for two days and Messi immediately knew he wanted to be with her forever.
If she stayed at Scagilia’s house, Messi found an excuse to visit her in the hope of being able to see her.
Often, this would be on weekends. He would write her love letters and tell her that when they both grew up, she would be his girlfriend.
They kept in touch, with Atopela going to watch Messi and his teammate play for Newell’s Old Boys in their younger days.
As his career flourished, Messi moved to Barcelona when he was 13, but the pair remained in touch.
Five years later, tragedy brought them together. Atopela was devastated when her best friend Ursυla Notz died in a car accident. Messi was so worried about her crush in the neighbourhood that he flew back to Argentina to comfort her.
They realised they wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Still, there were thousands of miles between them because ambitious 18-year-old Aptoela didn’t want to be an archetypal WAG.
He dropped out of the humanities and social sciences program at the National University of Rosario, and then began postgraduate studies in dentistry. But that didn’t work out.
Atopela made the heartbreaking decision to cut short her career and move to Barcelona two years after her relationship ended.
On the football chat show Hat Trick Barça on Catalan channel TV3 in January 2009, Messi was asked if he was in a relationship.
He replied: ‘Yes, I have a girlfriend. She is Argentinian. The truth is that I am fine and relaxed.’
Just a few months later the couple cried publicly during a carnival in Sitges after the local match of Barcelona-España.
In 2012, Thiago was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, followed by Mateo in 2015. In 2017, 25 years after their first meeting, Atopela finally became Mrs. Messi when they tied the knot at a luxury hotel in her hometown of Rosario.
It was described when Argeпtiпa ‘Weddiпg of the ce Ceп.
The bride wore a dress by Rosa Clara, a Barcelona-based designer who has dressed actress Eʋa Logória and Spanish Queen Letizia.
A year later, the couple had another son, Ciro. Their accolade also includes two dogs, a French mastiff named Señor Hulk and a more timid cockapoo named AƄυ.
Messi says of his wife: ‘She has many good qualities: how she earns her daily work; her personality, she is always in a good mood and always faces problems in an admirable way.
“She is a “very intelligent person who is excellent in all aspects of life.”
Despite her wealth, Aptoela doesn’t spend her days shopping for designer clothes.
He worked at the SJD hospital in Barcelona during the summer.
The couple also hosted leftovers from their wedding at the Rosario luncheon. While her husband earns £94m in three years playing for Paris Saint-Germain, Aptoela earns her own millions as a social media influencer.
Companies are falling over themselves to sign you into a contract to sell their products in exchange for a huge paycheck.
These include yoga clothes from Alo, Dolce & Gabbana, Gérlai, Dior and Louis Vuitton.
But this time, as Messi waits in Doha’s Lυsail Stadium, his multi-million dollar prize will pale into insignificance as he plays to fulfil another lifelong dream: lifting the most coveted trophy in world football.
