The interview Lionel Messi gave to America TV keeps giving fans bits and pieces of information about the player's life and how he's reached stardom. This time, the Argentine ace discussed a controversial topic and how he took advantage of modern medicine to dominate the world's most popular sport.
Argentina's all-time top scorer detailed how he found out he was born with growth hormone disorder, which needed a five-year treatment to overcome.
"At first my parents gave me the injections from when I was eight years old until I learnt. It was a small needle. It did not hurt, it was something routine for me that I had to do and I did it with normality. I injected my legs once every night. I started at 12 years old. It was not something that left an impression on me," the footballer stated.
Even if it was necessary, the player's family needed some help to cover the expenses of such treatment. With a medical bill rising up to nearly $1,400 a month, Messi found support to continue having his shots when Barcelona stepped in and agreed to pay for his treatment.
The player was the forced to move to Barcelona, and even though he enjoyed life in Spain, some of the members of his family struggled to do the same.
"It was not very difficult for me to come to Barcelona. I adapted quickly but my family did not. My siblings wanted to go back and they did. I was left alone with my father and he asked me "What should we do?", I told him that I wanted to stay," Messi recalled.
Argentina is set to play a couple of friendly games during the international break. You can get a hold of those games by visiting our International friendlies section here.
