😱Could he have played for Brazil? The Messi family inquiry | OneFootball

Recent historiographical research has shaken the football world by revealing that Lionel Messi has roots in Brazil. According to Globo, the Argentine star could have been eligible to represent La Canarinha.

The discovery in the No. 10’s genealogy

Italian historian Fiorenzo Santini determined that one of the Rosario-born captain’s maternal great-grandparents was born in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, at the beginning of the 20th century. The family lived in Brazilian territory before emigrating to Argentina around 1905.

The transformation of the surname

The study also clarified a curious documentary alteration that occurred after the migration. The original surname of that side of the family, Coccettini, was modified in official records after settling in Rosario, becoming the spelling Cuccittini by which the footballer’s maternal lineage is known today.

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