Lionel Messi height 2019: how tall would he be without growth hormone treatment [PHOTOS]

The day Lionel Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, his world came crashing down. So did Celia and Jorge, his parents. He was nine years old and measured 1.25 meters. Nothing was going well. The three of them thought that the dream of playing soccer and wearing Argentina's jersey as an adult would remain just a dream. Fortunately, medical advances and his own sacrifice turned Leo into a great player in every sense of the word.

Diego Schwarzstein, the endocrinologist who detected growth problems in Messi, recalls that it was not easy for the family of the current best player in the world to face the situation. And not just because of the costly treatment. "Am I not going to play soccer again?" asked young Leo with fear, who at the time was scoring up to ten goals per game in the youth teams of Newell's Old Boys.

"What Leo cared about was soccer and he was worried about his growth, just like his parents. Short stature doesn't always have a solution, some people are meant to be short. In Leo's case, the hormone replacement treatment began," said the Argentine doctor in an interview with 'Infobae' a few years ago.

According to Schwarzstein's predictions, if Lionel Messi hadn't resorted to growth hormone injections, he would be 10 to 15 centimeters shorter today. In other words, the Argentine crack who has won five Ballon d'Or awards wouldn't surpass 1.55 or 1.60 meters. He could have become a professional, but it would have surely been much more difficult for him.

Messi reached 1.70 meters after a total investment of 35 thousand dollars. Leo had to inject himself twice a day for three years. Approximately 900 dollars were spent per month on the treatment, with a daily cost of 35 dollars, that is, 17 dollars per injection.

Messi's family started paying for the treatment, then Newell's took over, but the Argentine crisis in 2001 made Leo keep the subsidy. Until in Spain, FC Barcelona became his main benefactor. They took care of the treatment costs and Leo repaid their trust many times over by winning all possible titles with the blue and maroon team.

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