At 1.7 m tall, Messi is one of the shortest players in the world, due to a growth hormone disorder he suffered from as a child.
On the night of December 18, the Argentine team won against France in the World Cup finals, winning the world championship for the third time after 1978 and 1986. One of the heroes of that victory was Lionel Messi. At the age of 35, he has maintained his form and fitness. However, few people know that the best player of the 2022 World Cup once suffered from a rare disease that almost forced him to give up his passion, due to his height and stunted body.
Messi was born on June 24, 1987, into a poor family in Rosario, Argentina. His father, Jorge Horacio, was a failed footballer who had to turn to work as a factory worker, and his mother was a temporary worker. Messi’s biggest disadvantage is that he does not have the physical strength and health of a normal person. Right from birth, Messi was sickly and more fragile than other children.
At the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with GHD, a rare form of growth hormone deficiency. This is a disease that affects the pituitary gland in the brain. The pituitary gland is responsible for synthesizing growth hormone, which allows children to grow, determining bone density, muscle softness and the development of body fat.
GHD can cause harm in many different ways, but experts have not been able to explain the specific cause. The most common complications are infections, brain tumors, and trauma. These complications can limit growth, increase fat around the waist, reduce muscle mass, and lead to behavioral disorders such as depression and anxiety. Thus, this disease will make Messi short, making it difficult for him to exceed 1.4 m in height, and his physical condition will also be affected.
Despite Messi’s prodigy status, local clubs River Plate and Old Boys in Argentina were unable to afford his treatment. However, he continued playing and caught the attention of Barcelona. The Spanish club quickly signed him to a life-changing contract. Barca pledged to pay Messi’s $900 monthly treatment costs for two years.
Lionel Messi in the match Argentina – Saudi Arabia, November 22, 2022.
The treatment for GHD is growth hormone injection. This is one of the factors that helps patients in general grow taller, solve many internal problems such as pituitary function, skin symptoms, teeth, vision and improve immunity.
Messi does not use growth hormones to enhance his physique (which is banned in sports). For him, this is a prescribed treatment, monitored by doctors, to help him overcome his illness.
In 2018, Messi also revealed the process of injecting growth hormones as a boy in an interview on America TV’s La Cornisa channel.
“I had to inject myself into my leg every night, starting when I was 12 years old. It was not a pleasant experience for me. At first, my parents injected me until I realized and did it myself. It was a small needle that didn’t hurt, I did it so much that it became a habit, a normal thing,” Messi recalled.
Growth hormone injections are highly effective, but they also have many disadvantages. Common side effects include edema and swollen fingers. Men may experience breast development, bloating, and joint pain. The therapy also increases the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and gastrointestinal cancer. In addition, the cost of treatment is quite expensive. Messi’s parents once paid about $1,500 for growth hormones.
