In a sport where speed and agility reign supreme, only a few footballers could match the agility and nimbleness of Messi during his heyday at Barcelona.
Whether representing his country at the World Cup or playing for the Blaugrana, La Pulga's extraordinary quickness on the pitch, amazing ball handling skills and lethal left foot make him one of the most exciting and creative players in football today and one of the game's best athlete, which is a special accomplishment in itself given he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at a very young age.
Now 36 years old and in the twilight of his career, the undisputed GOAT and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has proven he can still perform close to his best as he tears Major League Soccer to shreds with his new club Inter Miami.
The 2022 World Cup winner has been incredibly resilient throughout his long and illustrious football journey. With age, however, comes a greater attention to his match fitness, and remaining one of the best performers at the top level involves making certain sacrifices when it comes to eating and fitness regime.
Here, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about Lionel Messi's eating habits, including his favourite food, restaurant and cheat meals.
What is Lionel Messi's favourite food to eat?
Even though a global superstar, Messi seems to stay true to his roots, especially when it comes to his favourite food. He is a self-confessed fan of Argentine speciality beef dishes Milanesa Napolitana and Asado.
A favourite in Argentina, Milanese is a breaded cutlet made with a variety of ingredients such as ham, salt, oregano, fried beef, chopped tomatoes, onions, cheese, and a hint of sugar. His mother’s recipe for the chicken variation is his all-time favorite dish.
In his mom’s version, the eggs are mixed with chopped parsley and the breadcrumbs are spiked with garlic and Parmesan cheese for extra flavor. The chicken is quickly pan-fried in olive oil until golden brown, topped with the sauce, ham and cheese and baked.
"My favorite food? My mother's milanesa. I don't know. The sauce perhaps that goes on top of the milanesa. I don't know, I ate a lot of good ones, but it must be the first one, the one I always ate at my house," Leo Messi told Ole.
It's quite heartwarming that the Argentine prefers his mother's dish over plenty of delicacies he has tried over the past years. As well as loving his mum's Milanesa, Messi likes eating Asado, which is a true BBQ party in Argentina when the meal is full of meats such as beef, lamb, sausage, hearty dishes. He has a huge stainless steel asada - which translates as "to grill" - built into the kitchen of his home in Miami.
As per a 2020 post on Barcelona's official website, Messi loves eating roasted chicken with root vegetables that provides all the necessary nutrients for a balanced diet. This dish combines the benefits of complex carbohydrates found in potatoes, carotenes from carrots, potent antioxidants from thyme, leek, and onion with antimicrobial properties, and lean protein sourced from chicken.
It's highly-recommended ahead of an intense training session, providing increased power, improved agility, coordination, and helps massively to gain strength whilst maintaining muscle mass. Other foods on Messi's favourite list includes pizza, green eggs and ham, rice and beans.
How to make Milanesa Napolitana - step-by-step recipe
List of ingredients:
- Thinly sliced skillet steaks, such as top round
- Eggs
- Oregano salt and pepper
- Fresh bread crumbs
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Garlic cloves
- Finely minced olive oil or vegetable oil
- Tomato sauce
- Deli ham
- Grated Mozzarella cheese
- Italian seasoning or oregano
How to make:
- Take a shallow pan or container. Whisk the eggs with oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper.
In another pan, pour the breadcrumbs and stir in the parmesan cheese and garlic
- In another shallow pan, take the breadcrumbs and stir in the parmesan cheese and garlic.
- In a heavy skillet, heat the olive oil. Dip the steak in the egg mixture first and then in the bread mixture and place it on the skillet.
- Cook for several minutes until the steaks turns golden brown in colour.
- Drain the steaks with paper towel and place it on baking sheet. Turn the oven broiler on and top each steak with a slice of ham, tomato sauce and Mozzarella cheese.
- Top it up by sprinkling Italian seasoning and keep steaks in the broiler till the cheese melts and then serve.
Which restaurants does Lionel Messi eat at?
Naturally, Messi is living the life of an A-lister in Miami. His most lavish expense so far has come in the shape of his stunning $9 million (£8.6m) home in Fort Lauderdale. It features its own boat dock, eight bedrooms, nine and a half bathrooms, a three-car garage, and its own luxury pool.
The luxury abodes' prime spot in Fort Lauderdale means that they are well placed to make the most of Miami's best restaurants along the beachfront. And it's fair to suggest, Messi and his family have explored the eateries with their friends since moving to the Magic City.
Located on Miami beach, Italian restaurant Cafe Prima Pasta has been a favourite haunt of Messi and his wife Antonella even before his Inter Miami switch. Often swarmed by supporters looking for photos, Messi often takes a secret exit door to leave the restaurant.
The Italian hotspot has been serving up pasta for three decades, having opened its doors to Miami Beach in 1993, and it is no stranger to wining and dining celebrities with the likes of NBA legend Michael Jordan, Pitbull and actor Michael Caine with a private room available for reservations. It's a reasonably-priced eatery, with pasta dishes starting at $19.95 (£16) to the most expensive around seafood linguini costing $26.95 (£22).
He has been frequently spotted at trendy restaurant Gekko, a Japanese-inspired steakhouse and lounge. Serving sushi, $1272 (£1,000) steaks, and signature cocktails - it has become quite the celebrity haven, with Kim Kardashian, Eva Longoria, and Bryan Cranston just some of the high profile guests to have eaten there in recent months.
Other special items on Gekko's menu feature lobster, olive-fed filet mignon, chilled oysters with watermelon granita and more. Inter Miami owner David Beckham introduced Messi to the restaurant as soon as he arrived. Beckham took the Argentinian out for a dinner along with his former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets. They were joined by their wives, as Antonella, Elena, and Victoria Beckham celebrated Messi's arrival.
The Messi family had also dined at the SoFlo staple, where the most expensive main course on the menu is the skirt steak served with truffle fries and grilled asparagus at $36.95 (£29).
Does Lionel Messi eat cheat meals or junk food?
Even the world's leading sports stars enjoy a cheat day every now and again. Messi is no different. It is well-documented that the Argentine superstar loves having pizzas occasionally.
In arguably the peak of his powers, during Barcelona's 2014/15 treble-winning season lining up alongside Neymar Jr. and Luis Suarez to form the iconic M-S-N front-three, Messi was asked to request a post-match meal for September and the 5ft 5in magician opted for a simple Margherita pizza. The Italian delicacy is the staple mark of a cheat meal with toppings galore often added to the standard bread, tomato sauce and cheese dish.
However, that was when he was younger, now he is more conscious of what he eats, to preserve his career he has tried to cut out pizzas, red meat, pork, cheese, and fizzy drinks as much as possible from his diet. He is still known to have a sweet tooth, though.
Speaking with TN30, Messi was asked about his dietary choices given his longevity and quality at the highest level over his career. The 36-year-old Inter Miami ace revealed that he has a simple taste in food and spoke about his love for sweets.
“I am very simple when it comes to meals: asado, milanesa, pasta, chocolate, dulce de leche, ice cream… I like everything that is sweet, I’m in love with it. I try to eat little but every now and then I like it,” Messi said.
A plate of toast with dulce de leche spread on top is another one of his preferred cheat meals. That has 315 calories, seven grams of fat, 55g of carbs, 32g of sugar, and seven grams of protein.