Messi and friends: 4 well-known and 2 lesser-known friends of the Barcelona superstar

They say friends are the family we choose but what do you do when you're Lionel Messi and have millions of people who love you? Tribuna.com takes a look at the superstar's friend circle.

If there's anybody who has it all, it has to be Lionel Messi. A great career, a fancy lifestyle, a beautiful family - not to mention, the dogs - and whatnot.

In addition to all this, the Barcelona superstar also boasts of an extended friends circle that, interestingly enough, comprises of not just famous people but also a few lesser-known names.
With footballing action suspended, for the time being, let's take a look at who Messi usually surrounds himself with when he's not producing moments of magic on the field.

When City won against Barcelona at the Etihad, Messi was visibly upset. Speaking after the game, Sergio said: "I saw him there, he was feeling bad. I know him well enough to know when he’s bad when he’s good."

Both players burst onto the scene at a young age and their combined performances for Argentina forged their reputation as national icons. Right now, both of them are superstars in their own right but their friendship remains intact to this day.

2. Luis Suarez

When you win numerous games together and reach unprecedented levels of success, you're bound to become best friends. And that's what happened with Luis Suarez and Messi.

We all know of Suarez's affinity for getting himself into trouble - especially when it comes to his infamous biting incident. But his bond with Barcelona teammate Messi is enough to make people believe that there is indeed a different side to the Uruguayan.

As a result, Suarez and Messi have become inseparable now. They even rented a £40,000-a-week yacht to holiday in Formentera last summer.

They were joined by their families and another famous friend we are going to talk about next.

3. Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas and Messi played together at Barcelona and shared many wonderful years. They started out with the famous La Masia academy following which the former joined Arsenal - only to return to the Nou Camp in 2011.

The third member of the yacht holiday in Formentera, Fabregas has enjoyed a close relationship with Messi. Anytime he visited London in the past, he was often seeing partying with the Spaniard, who was playing for Chelsea at the time.

4. Dani Alves

Like Fabregas, Alves also played with Messi for a good majority of his career during their time together at Barcelona. Currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue 1, the full-back is also from South America.

Messi, who is usually a man of few words, even once admitted that he shares a special bond with Alves.

"I’ve always been close with Dani Alves since we shared the right-wing together when I first broke into the Barcelona first-team," said Messi.

He went on to add, "We’ve spent many years together, both on and off the field. Day-to-day, we’ve got a very strong relationship, which is also of great help on the field; it means we understand each other’s games very well."

Honourable mention - Antonela Roccuzzo

Although she's famously known as Lionel Messi's beautiful wife, there's a lot more to Antonela than what meets the eye.

An Argentine model and dietician, the 32-year-old has known Messi since they were kids and were close friends before falling in love. She had a role to play in all of his many successes along the way. The couple tied the knot in 2017 and share three children together - Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.

Leo and Antonella in 2010:

The not-so-well-known ones
1. Pinto

Currently known as Pinto “Wahin”, he has launched a successful career for himself in music. But during his time at Barcelona, his only role was to be there with Messi. Between 2008 and 2014, he played as an understudy to Victor Valdes but he wasn't exactly there for his skills between the sticks.

Despite winning three league titles and two Champions League trophies with Barcelona, Pinto is not all that well-known when compared to Messi's other friends mentioned above.

However, he had a bigger job to do as far as maintaining relations between the club and Messi is concerned. They were so close that at a point in time, it was rumoured that the former would leave if his friend wasn't offered a new contract.

2. Diego Vallejos

Vallejos and Messi have been friends since childhood. Ahead of the Argentine superstar's wedding to Antonela, Vallejos spoke about his relationship with Messi in an interview with Associated Press.


In addition to learning how to ride bikes together, they even notoriously threw water bombs at buses on the streets. It's when you participate in activities like these, you know that the friendship is going to last - just like it did for Messi and Vallejos.

What do you think, Barcelona fans? How would it feel to be friends with the enigmatic Messi?