Lionel Messi
said “I do” to childhood sweetheart and mother of their two children Antonella
Roccuzzo on Friday in his Argentine hometown Rosario, where footballers and
celebrities gathered for the “wedding of the century.”
Following
the private ceremony, the couple appeared happy and relaxed as they walked a
red carpet before hundreds of journalists at a hotel and casino complex,
Roccuzzo donning a tight, mermaid-style gown by Spanish designer Rosa Clara.
The couple’s
children Thiago, four, and Mateo, one, had front seats at the ceremony attended
by some 260 guests, including Shakira and her husband, Messi’s teammate Gerard
Pique, and numerous footballers such as Messi’s Barcelona strike partners Neymar
and Luis Suarez.
Argentine
media called it the “wedding of the century” for Rosario, the gritty northern
port city where Messi, 30, and his bride, 29, met when the player was nine
years old.
Former Barca
and current Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas was in attendance, along with Argentina
and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero.
The party
was to be a respite for Messi from his legal woes. A Spanish court last month
rejected his appeal against a tax fraud conviction.
Brunette
bride Roccuzzo wore a white, curve-hugging dress with a deep sweetheart
neckline and embroidered straps by Rosa Clara — a Spanish designer who has
dressed actress Eva Longoria and Spain’s Queen Letizia.
The wedding
was held at 2200 GMT in the City Center casino, which stands right next
to a crime-ridden slum run by drug gangs.
The civil
wedding ceremony and party were all slated to take place inside the venue, and
the guests will be lodged there too.
The feast
will reportedly feature Argentine delicacies such as roast gizzards.
Uruguayan
pop bands Rombai and Marama plus singer Karina, Aguero’s wife, will perform at
the reception.
There were
also rumours that there would be singing by Shakira, the Colombian diva famous
for “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever.”
Shakira had
recently denied rumours that she would miss the wedding due to a quarrel with
Roccuzzo.
– Humble
couple –
Messi and
Roccuzzo live in Barcelona where he plays but still returns regularly to
Rosario for vacations.
He moved to
Spain when he was 13 to join FC Barcelona, but the couple kept in touch.
Messi has
gone on to win the top Ballon d’Or award five times and is widely regarded as
the world’s best footballer.
But various
old friends of the couple in their home city said the bride and groom are
humble folk who have never forgotten where they come from.
“They are
the love of each other’s lives,” Messi’s childhood friend Diego Vallejos told
AFP.
Instead of
wedding presents, they have asked for donations to a children’s charity.
– ‘Leo and
Anto’ –
The couple
have reportedly spent the past two weeks in Rosario with family, but have kept
out of sight of the reporters who have invaded the city.
Rumours
circulated of bachelor and bachelorette parties, but the only evidence that
emerged was a photo, posted by ex-Barca goalkeeper Jose Pinto, of Messi
enjoying a barbeque with a few friends.
Some friends
of Roccuzzo have shared pictures of her relaxing with relatives.
On the eve
of the wedding, a festive atmosphere reigned in the Las Heras neighbourhood
where Messi grew up.
“We will
celebrate,” said Damian Lugoni, 27, a local sausage sandwich vendor.
“I wish good
luck to Leo and Anto, who is just as simple and nice as him.”
“We are all
happy for them,” said Lisandro Urteaga, an artist who was called in to paint a
mural of Messi in the neighbourhood for the occasion.
“Let him
celebrate the way someone like him deserves. He is a real example as a human
being — although when he plays football he doesn’t seem to be from this
planet.”
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