Lionel Messi is one of the most renowned soccer players of all time. The Argentine superstar has a global fan following around the world which follows every minor move of the little magician.
As the fan following has grown over the years, the questions about the Lionel Messi have also increased. Among these questions, one stands out: What languages does Lionel Messi speak?
As a lifelong fan of the magician, I have followed the career of Messi for more than 15 years and here I am listing every language spoken by Lionel Messi.
Native Language of Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. Being an Argentine, the native language of Messi is Spanish which is the national language of Argentina. The Argentine Spanish is a little different from the one spoken in Spain due to the difference in intonation.
Messi joined Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina when he was six years old. He was part of the famous team of 1987 that was known as ‘Machine of the ’87.’ As part of this machine, Messi scored almost 500 goals. During this phase of his life, Messi spoke the Argentine Spanish.
Move to FC Barcelona – Spanish and Catalan
In 2000, Lionel Messi moved to the La Masia, the famous academy of FC Barcelona in Spain. The diminutive Argentine was only 13 years old at the time and moved to Spain for his professional career and treatment of his growth hormone deficiency.
Messi’s moving to Spain, especially Barcelona, opened him to learn two more languages, the original Spanish spoken in Spain as well as Catalan which is prominent in the Catalunya region of Spain.
For comparison, Catalan has more roots in Latin and has more verbal conjunction as compared to Spanish. Barcelona is part of the Catalunya region where Catalan is spoken. Messi spent 21 years in Barcelona where he became fluent in both languages as evident from his dozens of interviews for FC Barcelona.
Move to PSG – French
In 2021, Messi moved to PSG in one of the most shocking transfer moves of all time. This was the first time in his career that he moved to a country where the majority of the population didn’t speak Spanish.
Many experts and fans assumed that Messi would be open to learning French to settle quickly within, however, this wasn’t the case. When the Argentine joined PSG, the club had many Spanish and Portuguese-speaking players from South America which helped in conversing within the squad.
Portuguese is quite similar to Spanish which makes it easier to understand if you are a Spanish speaker. Teammates like Neymar Jr. already knew Spanish when Messi joined which reduced the need to learn the language.
During his stint at PSG, Messi rarely spoke French in any interview in French. He always reverts to Spanish at public events or press conferences. There were certain instances where he spoke a few lines in French but that was the exception, not the rule.
In 2022, news broke out that Messi was learning French after spending one year in Paris, however, less than nine months later he left France, so I am not quite sure if he ever completed his lessons.
Move to Inter Miami – Can Lionel Messi speak English?
In the summer of 2023, Lionel Messi moved to the USA with a move to Inter Miami in MLS to shock the world one more time. The move to America opened the door for Messi to add another language to his arsenal, English.
Messi is among the rare breed of athletes who is a Global superstar but doesn’t speak the most common language in the world, English. Messi has worked with all different types of global brands in different brands but I have rarely seen him speak more than one or two lines of English.
The way Marco Verratti laughs after Leo Messi says “very nice” in English to the magician Julius Dean 😭😭😭🥹pic.twitter.com/9Ipql3uuFs
— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) January 27, 2023
Many fans and experts speculated that just like PSG’s move, Messi won’t try to learn English to settle in within the Inter Miami squad. However, to everyone’s surprise, a recent report revealed how Lione Messi is learning English to gel better with his Miami teammates.
Messi’s Inter Miami teammate, Rob Taylor revealed that Messi is making strides in learning English to converse with his teammates. This drastic step can be pointed to different circumstances than PSG. In Miami, there aren’t many teammates apart from Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who can speak Spanish.
Messi must have realized the need to learn the language and has been making a sincere effort in the past few months. English would also help Messi in increasing brand value as he can reach wider audiences for sponsors with advertisements in English.
Argentina National Team
The club level of professional soccer can be tricky for any athlete as one may need to learn a different language to settle within the team. However, the international level is easier as all the teammates speak the native language of the country.
In the Argentine national team, Lionel Messi can be seen speaking the native Spanish of Argentina with his teammates. The most intimate example would be the Amazon documentary on the Argentina National team in their preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Italian Connection
It’s hard to believe but Lionel Messi has an Italian connection which opens the door for him to learn Italian in the future. Messi was born into a family that has a big Italian connection.
Jorge Messi, the father of Lionel Messi, has Italian lineage. As per Messi’s biography by Guillem Balagué, which was published in 2013, Jorge Messi is of Italian and Spanish descent. He comes from a line of immigrants from the north-central Adriatic Marche region of Italy.
Who knows, Messi might try to learn Italian in the future to get closer to its lineage. However, that’s a pretty wild reach from my end.
Summary of Languages spoken by Messi
There you have it, all languages covered, however, I am providing a summary as a recap for the article that answers, what languages does Lionel Messi speak:
| Language | Level | Associated Club |
| Argentine Spanish – Native | Fluent | Argentina |
| Spanish – Spain | Fluent | FC Barcelona |
| Catalan – Spain | Fluent | FC Barcelona |
| French | Beginner | PSG |
| English | Beginner | Inter Miami |
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