Lionel Messi is known to be an extremely private person, and not much is known about his personal life. But last year, Messi fell victim to a scandalous controversy which linked him to having an affair with Argentine sports reporter Sofi Martinez. The rumours began after Martinez’ highly emotional interview with Messi after Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup victory became viral.
Martinez recently decided to respond to such allegations. Speaking during a conversation on PH: Podemos Hablar show on Telefe, Martinez spoke about her exposure to worldwide popularity and its downsides.
She accused fans of spreading rumours of her having an affair with Messi in the past. Messi and his childhood sweetheart Roccuzzo have been married since 2017, and have three young sons too.
“A lot of the time when your exposure increases, it brings things that aren’t so good, and my family suffers a lot. This year, people began to talk more and more about, ‘What’s up with the way he looks at you’, things like this, and I was caught in the middle of something that made me feel ridiculous to have to clarify,” Martinez said.
In a 2023 interview, Martinez revealed that the rumours weren’t started by Roccuzzo and her alleged jealousy. “No, zero, zero, I have no clue where this comes from, really. In fact, I went out with Antonela once, and I hold great respect for how she copes with the chaos surrounding them, the family life they maintain, which I truly love,” she said.
“It’s genuinely admirable to watch how they manage their life together, casually sharing their everyday moments without showy extravagance, so he’s certainly the best in the world alongside Antonela,” she added.
Messi and Roccuzzo have known each other since they were teenagers, but began officially dating in 2008. They married in 2017, in their hometown of Rosario. She is also the cousin of his childhood best friend, Lucas Scaglia, who is also a former football player. The Argentine star first confirmed the relationship in an interview in 2009, and then went public a month later in a carnival.
