Lionel Messi is a professional soccer player. He is often considered one of the greatest players of all time.
You must be wondering how many languages does Messi speak? He's been wildly successful, so naturally one wonders if he also speaks multiple languages.
Don't worry, we are here for you. This post will detail which languages Messi speaks, how fluently he speaks them and how he learned them.
Index
What languages does Messi speak?
MessiHe speaks2fluent languages.MessiHe speaks Spanish and Catalan.
Naturally, born in Argentina and having lived most of his life in Spain, Messi's first language is Spanish.
But that's not the only language he speaks fluently...
Does Lionel Messi speak English?
No, Lionel Messi doesn't speak English.
Having spent his entire life in the Spanish-speaking countries of Argentina and Spain, Messi never had to learn English.
Of course, you probably understand a few phrases in English, but you are not fluent in the language.
Footballers usually only learn English when signed by a club where English is the main language, but Messi has never been signed by an English-speaking club.
We know for a fact that Messi doesn't speak English, as Ronaldo joked at the 2016 Ballon d'Or ceremony about having to act as a translator for Messi and Neymar, neither of whom speak English.
This happened again in 2019 during a joint interview with Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The interviewer initially spoke to Ronaldo in English, but tried to include Messi in the conversation.
It was clear that Messi couldn't understand him, so both the interviewer and Ronaldo switched to Spanish to include him in the interview.
Watch the moment in the following video:
In the past, he has also been seen using a translator to interpret English for him.
However, it has been reported that Messi's wife, who is also Argentinian, is fluent in English.
However, it seems that your English skills have improved in recent years.
In an interview with a Spanish reporter in 2021, Messi was asked if he had time to learn English.
He replied that he had been learning English for a year and a half and also commented that he understood English but did not speak it.
Watch this interview in the following video:
Also, around the same time, a former teammate of Messi's at Barcelona, Sergino Dest, is said to have overheard Messi speaking in broken English.
Based on that, we might see Messi speaking English soon!
We saw Messi speaking some English while talking to a referee in one of his matches.
Watch Lionel Messi speaking English in the following video:
Does Lionel Messi speak Spanish?
Yes, Messi speaks Spanish as his mother tongue.
Messi was born in 1987 in the city of Rosario, Argentina. As Spanish is the main language in Argentina, it naturally became Messi's first language.
Despite being born and raised in Argentina, he moved to Barcelona with his family at the age of 13, when he was signed by the FC Barcelona youth soccer team.
Since then he lives in Barcelona, Spain, where Spanish is also spoken.
It has been noted that when Messi speaks Spanish, he has a thick Argentine accent, as he has always maintained close ties to his hometown of Rosario, Argentina.
In practically all the interviews he has given, Messi speaks in Spanish, so it is clear that he is more comfortable speaking in Spanish.
In the following video you can see how Lionel Messi speaks Spanish:
Did you know?Messi is not the only footballer who speaks Spanish.Karim Benzema had to learn Spanishwhen he arrived at Real Madrid.
Does Lionel Messi speak Catalan?
Yes, Messi speaks Catalan.
Living in Barcelona since he was 13 years old, Messi is fluent in Catalan.
Barcelona is located in the Spanish region of Catalonia, where Catalan is widely spoken.
In fact, Barcelona has 2 official languages: Spanish and Catalan. In fact, most people in Barcelona are bilingual and can speak both languages.
Around 6 million people speak Catalan in Catalonia, Andorra, the Balearic Islands and parts of France.
In addition, Messi has a family that lives in Catalonia. These relatives, who were fluent in Catalan, helped organize his trial at FC Barcelona.
Messi could have picked up Catalan quite easily after moving to Barcelona at the age of 13, as he was very young and Catalan shares many similarities with his mother tongue Spanish.
Messi was once asked about his Catalan skills in an interview. When asked if he spoke Catalan at home, he said: "Yes, the little one, he speaks a lot. Thiago less. I understand everything."
In this answer, he refers to his two sons, Mateo and Thiago, who were born and raised in Barcelona, so they probably speak Catalan as their first language along with Spanish.
Here Messi confirms that he understands Catalan perfectly.
While we have never seen Messi speak Catalan in interviews, it has been reported that he converses in Catalan with the other members of the FC Barcelona squad during training.
It has also been argued that speaking to each other in Catalan during matches could be a tactical advantage for the Barcelona team, as the other team might not be able to understand.
The only time we see Messi speaking Catalan was in 2009, when the Barcelona team celebrated winning the La Liga title with an open-top bus parade.
Watch Messi speak Catalan in the following video:
In this video, Messi shouts "Long live Barcelona, long live Catalonia and Argentina" in Catalan.
In a previous interview, Messi also stated that he speaks Catalan, but prefers to speak Spanish.
Does Lionel Messi speak Portuguese?
No, Lionel Messi does not speak Portuguese.
Since Messi is Argentine, his mother tongue is Spanish and not Portuguese.
In fact, the main language in most South American countries is Spanish.
The only exceptions are English-speaking Guyana, French-speaking French Guiana, and Portuguese-speaking Brazil.
Since Messi never lived in Brazil or spent much time there, he never had to learn Portuguese.
Does Lionel Messi speak French?
No, Messi doesn't speak French.
Messi was signed by French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2021, but he still doesn't speak French.
It was reported that before moving to PSG, Messi and his wife started taking some French lessons to prepare for the move.
Messi initially signed a 2-year contract with PSG, however this could easily be extended for a few more years.
After spending several years in Paris, Messi is likely to improve his French skills and continue to take French lessons.
What are Messi's views on language learning?
With Messi spending most of his time on his football career, it's no surprise that he doesn't have much time to study languages.
His fluency in Catalan means that he is definitely capable of learning other languages, but he has never had to learn another.
Messi once appeared in a Japanese facial cleansing commercial, where he actually spoke a little Japanese.
Watch Lionel Messi speaking Japanese in the following video:
Of course, it is clear that Messi does not speak Japanese and only learned that phrase for the commercial.
It's no wonder Messi hasn't had much time for languages as he has dedicated most of his life to football and who can really blame him.
Thank you for reading this post that answers the question, how many languages does Lionel Messi speak?
Related Posts: