Football superstar Lionel Messi married his childhood sweetheart on Saturday (NZT), at a ceremony in his Argentine hometown attended by some of the biggest names in football.
About 250 guests attended the marriage of Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo at a luxury hotel.
They included Messi's Barcelona teammates Neymar, Luis Suarezand Gerard Pique, who was joined by his wife, Colombian pop star Shakira. Former Messi teammates Carles Puyol and Cesc Fabregas were also in attendance.
Carles Puyol, from right to left, Vanessa Lorenzo, Cesc Fabregas, Daniella Semaan, Xavier Hernandez and Nuria Cunillera, arrive to attend the wedding of Lionel Messi. Photo / AP.
Argentines were abuzz over the wedding in Rosario, an agricultural hub and the country's third-largest city about 300 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and his girlfriend Karina Tejeda smile as they arrive to attend the wedding of Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo, in Rosario, Argentina. Photo / AP.
About 150 journalists were allowed to cover the event that Argentina's largest newspaper Clarin called the wedding "the wedding of the year" and "the wedding of the century".
Curious onlookers gathered before the wedding near the heavily guarded site hoping to snap photos of the soccer stars.
Newlywed Lionel Messi flashes a thumbs as he and his bride Antonella Roccuzzo come out on to a red carpet to pose for photographers, after tying the knot in Rosario, Argentina. Photo / AP.
"We think it's great that Messi has come to Rosario to get married," Julio Sosa, who cleans windows for a living, said.
Messi, 30, grew up in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood in Rosario along with two brothers and a sister.
His bride, 29, is the cousin of a close Messi friend and the new couple has been close friends since meeting at a young age.
Uruguayan soccer star Luis Suarez and wife Sofia Balbi pose on the red carpet after attending the wedding of Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo. Photo / AP.
Messi and Roccuzzo stayed in touch after he left to play soccer in Spain at age 13 and they eventually started a romantic relationship in the late 2000s.
Roccuzzo moved to Barcelona, where the couple live with their two sons: four- year-old Thiago and one-year-old Mateo. But they often return to their native Rosario.
"Messi could have had this wedding wherever he liked - Dubai, the moon. He can pay any plane ticket to anyone but he chose the city that's in his heart," Leandro Macaya said.
Messi, a five-time FIFA world player of the year, has faced criticism in Argentina because he has never brought the country a major title, in contrast to his repeated successes playing for Barcelona.
But he is praised both at home and abroad for keeping his common touch. "He was always the same and he never changed," said Diego Vallejos, a childhood friend who was invited to the wedding.
"Despite everything that he's accomplished in life, he's still the same simple kid, the skinny dude that I grew up with.
"It's hard to explain the feeling; I'm both a friend and a fan."
