Stars come out for Messi’s big day

Lionel Messi and his childhood sweetheart married yesterday at a ceremony in his Argentine hometown attended by some of the biggest names in soccer.

About 250 guests attended the marriage of Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo at a luxury hotel. They included Messi’s Barcelona teammates Neymar, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique, who was joined by his wife, Colombian popstar Shakira.

Messi, 30, grew up in a lowermiddle-class neighbourhood in Rosario with two brothers and a sister. He and his bride, 29, have been close friends since they were aged 5.

Messi and Roccuzzo stayed in touch after he left to play soccer in Spain at age 13 and they eventually started a romantic relationship in the late 2000s.

Roccuzzo moved to Barcelona, where the couple live with their two sons, Thiago, 4, and 1-year-old Mateo. But they often return to their native Rosario.

Messi, a five-time Fifa world player of the year, has faced criticism in Argentina because he has never brought the country a major title, in contrast to his repeated successes playing for Barcelona. But he is praised both at home and abroad for keeping his common touch.

“He was always the same and he never changed,” said Diego Vallejos, a childhood friend invited to the wedding.

“Despite everything that he’s accomplished in life, he’s still the same simple kid, the skinny dude that I grew up with. It’s hard to explain the feeling — I’m both a friend and a fan.”