Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has expressed his regret at not having learned English while growing up.
Speaking on the podcast Miro de Atrás, the 2022 World Cup winner admitted that his inability to speak English left him feeling out of place in certain situations during his illustrious career, especially when interacting with global figures.
“To not have learned English as a boy. I had the time to have at least studied English and I didn’t do it. I deeply regret it. I experienced situations where I was with incredible and spectacular personalities to be able to talk and have a chat and you feel half ignorant.
“I always thought: ‘What an idiot, how I wasted my time.’ When you’re young, you don’t realise it. Today that’s what I tell my children, (the importance of) having a good education, to study and be prepared.
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“I always tell my children to take advantage of it. They have a different situation to the one I had, although I never lacked anything…”
Messi, who joined Inter Miami in 2023 after two years at Paris Saint-Germain, added that football has still provided him with important life lessons.
“I was able to do everything and reach the top [in football], but along the way there are many experiences and lessons learned,” he said.
“It’s true that football is a way of life. It teaches you a lot, it gives you a lot of values. It creates lifelong bonds. You get to know places.”
