Lionel Messi Talks About His Fear of Speaking English After Years of Avoiding It

Lionel Messi has admitted that he fears speaking English due to the possibility of making mistakes, despite understanding almost all of the language. 

The Argentine superstar, who moved to the United States last year to join Inter Miami, revealed his apprehension during an appearance on “Dispuestos a Todo” (Ready for Anything), a YouTube show hosted by his nephew, Tomás Messi.

Messi, now 36, shared that he has gradually spoken more English. “The truth is that I understand everything or almost everything. 

Little by little, I am starting to speak more,” Messi said. “I think it’s about daring to speak in English. 

Sometimes out of embarrassment or fear of making mistakes, I don’t speak, but I think I could already start speaking quite well.”

During the show, Lionel Messi discussed various topics, including the origins of his relationship with his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo. 

He met Roccuzzo as a child in their native Argentina but lost contact with her after moving to Spain. 

“I used to go to her house because of her cousin, and that’s where I met her when we were very young. I always liked her,” Lionel Messi explained. 

“Then at 13 years old, I went to Spain, and we kind of lost contact. Communication was much more difficult than now. 

It was through letters, emails, or some expensive international phone calls. So we stopped talking and distanced ourselves a lot.”

However, Lionel Messi and Roccuzzo reconnected when he was 16 or 17, thanks to the advent of messenger services. 

“We got closer again; we hadn’t lost that feeling we had as kids; nothing had changed. At 19 or 20 years old, we started dating.” The couple married in 2017 and have three sons: Thiago, 12, Mateo, 9, and Ciro, 6.

In another surprising revelation, Lionel Messi admitted that he could be more skilled at padel, a sport similar to tennis.

 “I’m not good at padel,” he confessed. “I like playing it, although I don’t play much, but I try my best. I run a lot; I don’t give up on any ball, but when it comes to hitting it, I’m not technical or anything; I just try to return it. 

I often go confidently to the net and end up hitting it out or missing the ball entirely, but it’s fun and enjoyable. 

During training camps, we spend a lot of time playing it along with pool, and cards, and spending time in the best possible way. 

Not so much now but before we used to play a lot.”