Few people know that to get to where he is today, superstar Lionel Messi had to go through a rare disease.

Last night, the Argentina team won 3-0 against Croatia in the semi-finals, officially winning the golden ticket to the 2022 World Cup final.

Today, people praise football star Messi because he played extremely impressively. This striker contributed 1 goal and 1 assist to the Argentina team.

Few people know that to get to where he is today, superstar Lionel Messi had to go through a rare disease in world football. Even though he is at the peak of his football career, every time he recalls it, he feels emotional and unable to hold back his tears.

A serious disease that soccer superstar Messi suffered from when he was a child

As a child, Lionel Messi was diagnosed with congenital growth hormone deficiency . That’s why his appearance is quite short compared to his peers. At the age of 10, Messi was only 1m27 tall. 

It is known that the disease that Messi suffers from is extremely rare in the world. On average, only 1 person in 20 million people is affected and the cost to treat this disease is extremely expensive.

Doctor Diego Schwarsztein was the first person to examine and discover Messi’s illness. The doctor gave Messi a treatment regimen of nearly $1,000 per month. Messi will be injected under the skin every day, continuously for about 3-6 years. It is expected that treatment costs will amount to about 600,000 pesos/year (equivalent to 150,000 USD, according to the exchange rate at that time).

The cost of this treatment is beyond the means of Messi’s family, and is even a huge number in all Argentine clubs. That made his dream of playing football almost end.

Finally, realizing the football star’s natural ability, the Barcelona Club decided to help the 13-year-old boy that year treat his illness. Thanks to Barcelona’s sponsorship, Messi was injected with growth hormone to develop his muscles and bones as well as his physical condition. Thanks to that, from a boy only 1m4 tall, Messi gradually matured and reached a height of 1m69. With this height and physique, the football superstar is like “a tiger with wings”, he has all the necessary conditions to show off his natural talent.