Argentina football legend Lionel Messi has opened up about a personal regret, admitting that he wishes he had learned English while growing up, despite having enough time to study the language.
The Inter Miami forward spent over 20 years at Barcelona before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and joining the Major League Soccer club in 2023.
Messi, now 39, believes learning English earlier would have helped him speak freely with some of the remarkable people he has met during his career. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also captained Argentina to glory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“I regret many things. To not have learned English as a boy. I had the time to have at least studied English and I didn’t do it. I deeply regret it,” Messi said.
He explained how the language barrier sometimes left him feeling uncomfortable around famous personalities.
“I experienced situations where I was with incredible and spectacular personalities to be able to talk and have a chat and you feel half ignorant. “I always thought: ‘What an idiot, how I wasted my time.’
Messi said he now uses his experience to guide his children, stressing the value of education and preparation.
“When you’re young, you don’t realise it. Today that’s what I tell my children, having a good education, to study and be prepared.
“I always tell my children to take advantage of it. They have a different situation to the one I had although I never lacked anything…”
