<p>Celebrity magazines have dubbed brunette mother-of-two Antonella Roccuzzo "the first lady of football" -- her man, Lionel Messi, is widely considered the best player on the planet.<br /><br />Showbiz and football stars will attend their wedding today in the couple's hometown of Rosario, Argentina.<br />But friends here in their home city in northern Argentina insist the two are humble folk who have never forgotten where they come from.<br /><br />Seen as a man of few words, the millionaire Barcelona striker lets his feet do the talking -- and his bride in public says even less.<br /><br />Her family members have also avoided talking to the crowds of reporters who have invaded the city ahead of the wedding.<br /><br />Roccuzzo's father Jose is the owner of a chain of local supermarkets, Unico. He was formerly president of a regional supermarket owners' association.<br /><br />Apart from that, he is said to be a keen fan of Newell's Old Boys -- Messi's boyhood club in Rosario.<br />- 'Messi's girl' -<br /><br />Roccuzzo grew up in the upper middle-class Bella Vista district and went to a private school, says one friend of the family who asked not to be named.<br /><br />Diego Vallejos, a childhood friend and neighbor of the Messis, told AFP the couple met aged nine and Messi "fell in love forever at first sight" with Roccuzzo.<br /><br />"We will always remember Antonella as being around this neighborhood and as being Messi's girl," said another friend, Franco Lentini, who grew up in the same modest neighborhood as the player.<br /><br />"They are the love of each other's lives," said Vallejos.<br /><br />Messi moved to Spain aged 13 to join FC Barcelona, but he kept telephoning Roccuzzo and writing her letters.<br /><br /><br />Sources close to Roccuzzo's family say she started courses in communications and odontology but did not finish them.<br /><br />Instead she moved to Spain to join Messi.<br /><br />She opened a luxury shoe shop there this year along with her friend Sofia Balbi -- wife of Messi's Barcelona strike partner, Uruguay's Luis Suarez.<br /><br />World media started to widely identify Roccuzzo as Messi's girlfriend shortly before he played in the 2010 World Cup.<br /><br />She gave birth to their children, Thiago, in 2012 and Mateo in 2015.<br /><br />At Friday's wedding Roccuzzo will wear a dress by Spanish designer Rosa Clara. She has been photographed in dresses by the designer at various footballing award ceremonies and functions.<br /><br />The designer has also dressed stars such as actresses Eva Longoria and Sofia Vergara as well as Spain's Queen Letizia. </p>
<p>Celebrity magazines have dubbed brunette mother-of-two Antonella Roccuzzo "the first lady of football" -- her man, Lionel Messi, is widely considered the best player on the planet.<br /><br />Showbiz and football stars will attend their wedding today in the couple's hometown of Rosario, Argentina.<br />But friends here in their home city in northern Argentina insist the two are humble folk who have never forgotten where they come from.<br /><br />Seen as a man of few words, the millionaire Barcelona striker lets his feet do the talking -- and his bride in public says even less.<br /><br />Her family members have also avoided talking to the crowds of reporters who have invaded the city ahead of the wedding.<br /><br />Roccuzzo's father Jose is the owner of a chain of local supermarkets, Unico. He was formerly president of a regional supermarket owners' association.<br /><br />Apart from that, he is said to be a keen fan of Newell's Old Boys -- Messi's boyhood club in Rosario.<br />- 'Messi's girl' -<br /><br />Roccuzzo grew up in the upper middle-class Bella Vista district and went to a private school, says one friend of the family who asked not to be named.<br /><br />Diego Vallejos, a childhood friend and neighbor of the Messis, told AFP the couple met aged nine and Messi "fell in love forever at first sight" with Roccuzzo.<br /><br />"We will always remember Antonella as being around this neighborhood and as being Messi's girl," said another friend, Franco Lentini, who grew up in the same modest neighborhood as the player.<br /><br />"They are the love of each other's lives," said Vallejos.<br /><br />Messi moved to Spain aged 13 to join FC Barcelona, but he kept telephoning Roccuzzo and writing her letters.<br /><br /><br />Sources close to Roccuzzo's family say she started courses in communications and odontology but did not finish them.<br /><br />Instead she moved to Spain to join Messi.<br /><br />She opened a luxury shoe shop there this year along with her friend Sofia Balbi -- wife of Messi's Barcelona strike partner, Uruguay's Luis Suarez.<br /><br />World media started to widely identify Roccuzzo as Messi's girlfriend shortly before he played in the 2010 World Cup.<br /><br />She gave birth to their children, Thiago, in 2012 and Mateo in 2015.<br /><br />At Friday's wedding Roccuzzo will wear a dress by Spanish designer Rosa Clara. She has been photographed in dresses by the designer at various footballing award ceremonies and functions.<br /><br />The designer has also dressed stars such as actresses Eva Longoria and Sofia Vergara as well as Spain's Queen Letizia. </p>