Lionel Messi was 1.25 meters tall when he was 9 years old and the Rosario endocrinologist Diego Schwarzstein detected a growth hormone deficiency in Newell’s Old Boys’ youth ranks. 💉
Without treatment, the doctor himself estimates that Leo would not have exceeded 1.55 or 1.60 meters — up to 15 centimeters less than the 1.70 he reached as an adult.
The treatment was a daily injection that cost around 35 dollars. In total, the full process came to about 35,000 dollars: at first it was financed by the Acindar health insurance plan, where his father Jorge worked, but during Argentina’s 2001 economic crisis that coverage was cut off.
It was FC Barcelona that paid the final 30% of the treatment while young Leo waited for a place in the club’s youth teams. 🇦🇷➡️🇪🇸
The most surprising thing Schwarzstein said: even without the treatment, Messi would have made it to professional soccer anyway. “He really is a genius”, said the doctor. But at that height… would you still have bet on him? 🤔
