Messi's historic meeting

Messi first met legendary singer Richie, who inspired his name.

Messi's stepmother, Celia Cuccittini, was a huge fan of Lionel Richie - the famous singer of the hits "Dancing on the Ceiling" and "Hello". Because she loved Richie's voice and style so much, she named her son, who later became a world football legend, after him.

Messi and Richie have shared the same name for more than 3 decades but have never met. On the evening of April 12, the two reunited for the first time at an event. Richie could not hide his excitement, quickly sharing a series of photos of the two shaking hands and chatting happily on social media.

Richie wrote emotionally: "When Lionel met Lionel. His mother named him after me and now we met. It was so wonderful to see him after all these years."

However, the online community is skeptical. Many people do not believe this story is true with a series of comments: "Is it true that Messi was named after Lionel Richie?", "Where did this come from?", "So hard to believe", "Messi's family really recognizes greatness"...

It's not the first time Richie has made this claim. In a 2014 interview, he said: "They named him after me, and it makes me proud."

After Argentina's defeat to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final, Richie consoled: "Lionel, just take it easy like Sunday morning. Don't be stressed. I've lost at the Grammys so many times, but that makes me try harder. My name is, I'm the winner, you can't go wrong."

Richie's prediction came true when Leo later won the 2022 World Cup with the Argentina team as well as two consecutive Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024.

Messi's double helps Inter Miami win in a comeback On the morning of April 10, Lionel Messi scored 2 goals in Inter Miami's 3-1 victory over LAFC (3-2 on aggregate) in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions 2025.

Source: https://znews.vn/cuoc-gap-lich-su-cua-messi-post1545497.html