Lionel Messi is one of the most recognizable athletes in the world today. Additionally, he is firmly in the soccer GOAT debate along with Pele and Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi is well-known to be fairly short for a football player. Without further ado, let’s provide an answer to the question: how tall is Messi?
How Tall Is Messi? | The Basics
It is important to provide a simple answer to the question before diving deeper into it. Lionel Messi stands five feet, seven inches tall at the present time. Some sources state he is five feet, six inches tall but most agree that he is five feet, seven inches tall. However, the story behind his height isn’t as simple as it is for many other athletes near his height or shorter. Many of them had parents around that height, so growing that tall is unsurprising.
This is not the case for Lionel Messi. The story behind his height is far more complicated.
Why Is Lionel Messi Five Feet, Seven Inches Tall?
One might consider five feet, seven inches tall a bit short for a professional soccer player. This is somewhat accurate. However, as previously stated, Messi’s height isn’t the result of mere genetics or a lack of nutrition while growing up. In fact, it is the result of a medical condition that threatened to end his soccer career before it ever really started.
Messi received a devastating diagnosis that he had a growth hormone deficiency when he was only 10 years old. At this time, he was only a promising youth player and far from the global superstar he would become. His parents feared that this condition would end their son’s hopes of becoming a professional soccer player before his career had even really begun. Argentinian club Newell’s Old Boys promised to help pay for growth hormone therapy, but later went back on that promise. Despite this, Messi continued to undergo growth hormone therapy and overcame this major setback.
Messi’s size would prove pivotal in shaping his later career.
How Tall Is Messi? | Effects on His Career
Lionel Messi’s height affected his career in a variety of ways. One of the ways that his height affected his career is that it made some clubs hesitant to sign him earlier in his career. River Plate was one of these clubs. Messi’s height, along with his growth hormone deficiency, convinced River Plate to pass on him. Naturally, this worked out quite well for Newell’s Old Boys and later FC Barcelona, but it is worth mentioning this effect on his career.
However, his height affected him later in his career, as well. In his early days, Messi was thin in addition to being somewhat short. As a result, he had to work hard in order to improve his balance and physical strength.
This work later proved invaluable. Many opponents figured that Messi would be physically weaker than them due to his short stature. Despite this, Messi became far stronger than he appeared and it was incredibly difficult to bully him off the ball. Additionally, Messi’s height affected his playing style, as well.
How Tall Is Messi? | Effects on His Playing Style
Naturally, one’s height affects their playing style, regardless of which sport they play. This is the case for Lionel Messi and the sport of soccer aka football. Messi doesn’t have the sort of overwhelming physical strength that one needs in order to throw their weight around on the soccer pitch. However, he has adapted to this and doesn’t need it.
Messi, much like his fellow Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona, has worked on his dribbling to such an extent that dispossessing him is nearly impossible. Opponents often find themselves out of position after trying to take the ball away from Messi. Additionally, Messi’s short stature provides him with a low center of gravity that makes it easier to control the ball.
Also, Messi being shorter than others is a blessing in some ways. Lionel Messi was quite quick in his earlier days mostly thanks to his smaller size and larger opponents found it difficult to keep up with him. Messi doesn’t have quite the same pace now as he used to. However, his speed and phenomenal dribbling are closely tied to the fact that he had to adapt his playing style to his size.
Messi’s Height and Comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were rivals for quite some time. Messi starred for FC Barcelona for quite some time and Cristiano Ronaldo was Real Madrid’s star man from 2009-2018. As such, it is unsurprising that the two of them were compared in nearly every way imaginable. This includes their playing styles.
However, it also includes their physical appearance, as well. While Messi is five feet, seven inches tall, Cristiano Ronaldo is six feet, two inches tall. This means that Cristiano Ronaldo is fairly tall for a soccer player. Ronaldo is strong, athletic, and powerful. Meanwhile, Messi is quick, skillful, and elusive. In many ways, Messi and Ronaldo represent opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of the physical aspects of soccer.
It is interesting to compare the two in terms of their physical stature.
How Tall is Messi? | Inspiration for Shorter Athletes Everywhere
There is also another aspect of Messi’s height that must be discussed. Messi’s story is an inspiring tale of a young boy from Argentina who grew up to be one of the best soccer players of all time. The fact that Messi is relatively short adds to the appeal of this story.
Many people naturally want to root for the underdog and this makes Messi’s story more compelling. However, Messi overcoming his physical limitations and reaching the heights that he has also provides inspiration for shorter athletes all across the globe. Messi proves that it is possible to succeed and even surpass all expectations even without all the innate physical advantages one may want. That is why many consider Messi an inspirational figure in sports.
That concludes our answer to the question: how tall is Messi?