#5 Lionel Messi
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Born to Jorge Messi – of Italian and Spanish heritage – and to Celia Cuccittini – of Italian descent – Lionel Andres Messi was eligible to play for either Argentina or Spain courtesy of his dual citizenship.
Messi was born in Rosario and llved there until he was 13, playing for Newell’s Old Boys. After his club were unable to pay for the treatment of his growth-hormone deficiency, Messi moved to Barcelona in the September of 2000. Due to Argentina being his birthplace and because of his Spanish lineage, Messi was eligible to play for either of the two countries but the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner always wanted to don the Blue and White of La Albiceleste.
Any team in the world would want Lionel Messi to play for them, so when the Spanish Under-17 selectors came calling for Messi in 2003, it was no surprise. It so happened that Barcelona’s director of football, Carles Rexach, had informed the Royal Spanish Football Federation of the presence of an insanely gifted youngster in their youth ranks.
Such was the talent of a 16-year-old Lionel Messi, that to prevent him from being poached by the Royal Spanish Football Federation the AFA (Argentine Football Association) specially organized two Under-20 friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay to cement his status as an Argentine international in FIFA.
One is left to wonder what could have been had Messi opted to play for the Spanish national team. Instead of the incessant heartbreaks, he could have been a two-time Euro and a World Cup winner. Instead, he is left to rue his side’s loss in the finals of three consecutive major international tournaments.
