A secret buried for over a century: a surprising discovery reveals Messi's connection to Brazil

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A study reveals a surprise about Messi

A new study has thrown up a surprise about the family origins of Argentine star Lionel Messi. An Italian researcher has concluded that one of his ancestors was born in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, before the family later moved to Argentina, on a journey that also saw the family surname change.

According to the Brazilian network "Globo", Italian genealogy specialist Fiorenzo Santini spent several years compiling the family tree of the Argentina captain. His curiosity was first sparked by the origin of the surname "Messi" during the player's early days at Barcelona.

The study showed that Messi's great-grandfather on his father's side, Angelo Messi, left the Italian town of Recanati bound for the Argentine city of Rosario in 1893 with his wife.

On his mother's side, the trail goes back to great-grandfather Ranieri Cocchietini. Born in the Italian region of San Severino Marche, he emigrated with his wife Rosa Ricchezza to Brazil aboard the ship "Washington", arriving at the port of Santos on 20 September 1899.

Historical documents show the journey to Brazil brought a change in both first name and surname, thanks to the difficulty of writing foreign names at the time. Ranieri became "Ramiro Contchetini", the kind of change that was common among immigrants in that period.

Settling in the state of São Paulo, the great-grandfather worked on a farm in the Rincão region before moving to the city of Ribeirão Preto. Two of the family's children were born there, among them Ardirigo in 1904.

About a year after Ardirigo's birth, the family left Brazil for Argentina and settled around the city of Rosario.

From there, a new chapter began. Antonio Cuccittini, Messi's grandfather, was born, then his mother Celia María Cuccittini, before Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini arrived on 24 June 1987.

Santini explained that his research ran between 2019 and 2022, after he noticed there was no record of the surname "Cuccittini" in Italy. Through documents and relatives of Messi's mother, he discovered that the change of first name and surname had happened during the family's time in Brazil.

He added that these findings helped Messi to be granted the title of "honorary citizen" of the Italian town of San Severino Marche in 2022, in recognition of his family roots.

The study found no records to suggest that any of Messi's relatives stayed in Ribeirão Preto after the family moved to Argentina in 1905.

One symbolic link still connects the Argentina star to the city. A street bears the name "Martinico Prado", after the owner of the farm who took in Messi's ancestors during their time in São Paulo, before their final move to Argentina.