Messi's tall tale

AS A child, Messi was diagnosed with a rare growth hormone deficiency. The condition affects one in 20 million people. It is not a family affliction. His younger sister, María Sol, for instance, is a decidedly tall young lady.

The average cost of treatment, which involves subcutaneous injections every day for three to five years, is over €100,000 a year. This kind of money was beyond the means of Messi’s parents. When Messi began his treatment in 1998, he was nine years of age. At the time, his father worked in a steel-making company; his mother at a magnet-manufacturing workshop. The medical insurance to cover the costs of the treatment ran out after two years. Messi’s club, Newell’s Old Boys, offered to pay for every second injection, but when payments started arriving late, Messi’s parents took umbrage and brought their talented son for a trial to Barcelona in September 2000.

Messi signed for Barcelona. At the time, the club didn’t take players from outside Catalonia, let alone outside the EU. It was a big gamble, as they also agreed to take on the costs of his medical treatment as well as paying his father €45,000 a year for a position at the club. Messi used to administer the injections into his legs himself every night. Having arrived in Barcelona almost a foot shorter than the normal height of a boy his age, he measures 5ft 6½ins today, his genetically-intended height.