FIFA World Cup: One in 70 babies born in December named after Lionel Messi post Argentina’s victory

Football is not just a game for the people of South America. Rather for them, it is believed to be an entity to worship. The proof is everywhere in countries like Brazil, Argentina and other footballing nations in the continent. Since Argentina took home the FIFA World Cup title earlier in December 2022, emphatic celebrations were seen in every nook and corner of the country. Their talismanic captain Lionel Messi led the side to end a prolonged wait of 36 years to engrave their name on the coveted trophy. Thus, after the Argentina team touched down the country, the footballers have been earning many plaudits with Messi being the centrepiece. Now, the Civil Registry of the province of Santa Fe has revealed an interesting fact that fairly demonstrates how much respect the players are gaining in the country. Recent data showed that one in 70 babies, born in December 2022, was registered with the names of Argentine footballers. No doubt, the most sought-after names were Lionel or Lionela. Up until September, apparently, six kids had those names. In the months of October and November, it increased to 32 such name registrations, but in December, it increased even more. Mariano Galvez, the Director of the Civil Registry of Santa Fe, told the radio Santa Fe LT9 that apart from Messi, his other teammates like Julian Alvarez and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez are also garnering significant popularity as their names were also registered several times. While all of these have been going on, another treasured tale has been brought to light by La Capital, a newspaper based in Rosario. They published an explanation about how Messi got the name “Lionel” while in Argentina, Leonel is more common. The daily reported that a renowned American singer- Lionel Ritchie was the reason behind it. Messi’s mother Celia Cuccittini is recognised to be a huge fan of Ritchie. When she was pregnant in 1987, the song ‘Say You, Say Me’ - one of the most popular compositions of Ritchie, was trending. So, in order to pay tribute to her favourite singer, Cuccittini decided to name her newborn baby after him. That was how Messi got the unique name. This incident is also not unknown to Ritchie himself. In 2014, when he came to know about it for the first time, he told TMZ Sports that he would definitely meet Messi as he felt ‘quite honoured’. After Messi’s unexpected penalty miss in the 2016 Copa America final, he sent a special text message to the footballer trying to uplift his confidence. Pulling out their names’ reference, the four-time Grammy Award-winner noted, If I told you how many times I lost at the Grammys and it only made me do one thing, getting better. So, I’m not even worried about my namesake. He’s a winner obviously. I’m sure you are down right now but you are a Lionel, you can’t go wrong. On 18 December, on the night of the final at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, Argentina defeated France in a breathtaking battle that had to be decided through a penalty shootout in the end. The European side shut the door to victory for Argentina multiple times with their star forward Kylian Mbappe scoring three crucial goals during the 120-minute play. As it ended 3-3, Argentina sealed the deal in the tiebreaker. Messi was awarded the Golden Ball for becoming the Player of the Tournament, while Martinez received the Golden Glove and Enzo Fernandez was named the best ‘Young Player’ award. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .