The Argentine international is arguably the greatest player of all time, but for one who garners so much attention, the 38-year-old has always come across as a shy and reserved character, eager to avoid taking up too many column inches. And when his work is done on the football pitch, the former Paris Saint-Germain ace seeks a modicum of normality.
He said in July 2025: "Obviously, when I enter into my house, with my family. I try to be a normal dad, a normal husband, like anybody else, assuming the responsibilities we all have, as a father, as a husband, and be a normal person. I am beyond everything else that happens to me — the fame [and] the recognition — I may have outside. Inside my house, I am a very normal person, like anybody else. I discipline the children, I put limits, play and share with them, with my wife and I live a very normal life as well."
In an interview with Argentine channel, Luzu, Messi revealed that he likes nothing better than enjoying some alone time, especially after enjoying a tiring period with his children. The 2022 World Cup winner also admitted he is a bit of an oddball.
He said, via Marca: "I'm weirder than sh*t. I really like being alone, I enjoy being alone. The mess at home with the three kids running around everywhere ends up saturating me and I like a moment of solitude. I'm very structured, if I have the day organised in a certain way and in the middle something happens that changes everything for me."
When asked what things made him feel strange, he referred the question to his partner. "Antonella can say many more things than I can, it depends on my mood on many things, on small stupid things," he said.
Messi became a worldwide phenomenon when he rose to fame at Barcelona, winning multiple Champions Leagues, La Ligas, and Ballon d'Ors, among other trophies. But all that fame, pressure, and attention got to him as he tried to adjust to superstardom.
He added, "I don't do therapy now. At the time I did, in Barcelona. I'm a lot of eating things myself, keeping problems to myself. I changed a lot. In sports, I talk a lot with my dad. In that sense, it was always my old man. I would finish with my old man and write to him. In the day to day, with my family. I really like being alone, I enjoy being alone. When the kids are running around the house, there's a lot of noise."