Sports News | Study Reveals Lionel Messi's Ancestral Link to Brazil's Sao Paulo
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Santini, who is a specialist in tracing genealogy and spent several years studying the superstar footballer's family tree, was curious by the origin of his surname Messi during his early days with Barcelona.
Brasil [Brazil], July 25 (ANI): A new study has revealed a surprising Brazil connection with Argentina's FIFA World Cup-winning icon Lionel Messi.
As per Brazilian outlet Globo quoted by Goal.com, Italian researcher Fiorenzo Santini's study has concluded that one of Messi's ancestors was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, before family later made a move to Argentina. This journey from Brazil to Argentina saw a change in the family's surname.
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Santini, who is a specialist in tracing genealogy and spent several years studying the superstar footballer's family tree, was curious by the origin of his surname Messi during his early days with Barcelona.
As per the study, Messi's great-grandfather on his father's side, Angelo Messi, left the Italian city of Recanati and moved to Argentina's Rosario in 1893 with his wife.
On his mother's side, the story goes back to his great-grandfather Ranieri Cocchietini. He was born in the Italian region of San Severino Marche and immigrated to Brazil with his wife Rosa Ricchezza on a ship named "Washington", which arrived at port of Santos in September 1899.
As per historic documents, the family's journey to Brazil saw a change in their name and surnames as difficulties were faced in writing foreign names at that time, with Ranieri becoming "Ramiero Concchietini", a change common amongst immigrants in that time frame.
Settling in city of Sao Paulo, the great-grandfather worked on farms of Rincao region before moving to the city of Ribeirao Preto, where two of the family's children were born, including Ardirigo in 1904.
About a year after Ardirigo's birth, the family left Brazil for Argentina and settled near the city of Rosario, where they began a new phase of life. Antonio Cocchietini, Messi's grandfather, was later born, and then his mother Celia Maria Cocchietini, was born. Messi was born on June 24, 1987.
Santini explained that his research went between 2019 and 2022, after he noticed that there was no record of "Cocchietini" surname in Italy. Through documents and relatives of Messi's mother, the researcher was able to trace the change of name and surname during the family's time to Brazil.
These findings, he added, helped the iconic footballer earn the title of 'honourary citizen' of the Italian city of San Severino Marche in 2022, in recognition of his family roots.
No records suggest that Messi's relatives stayed in Brazil's Ribeirao Preto after the family moved to Argentina in 1905, as per the study. The only link that connects Messi to the city is a street named "Martinico Prado", after the farm owner who took in Messi's ancestors during their time in Sao Paulo, before they finally moved to Argentina. (ANI)
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