Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional football player who is known as the only person to win the ‘World Player of the Year’ award four years in a row and holds the record for winning it seven times in total. He’s certainly a man of many talents, but can Lionel Messi sing?
Although Lionel Messi was named after the songbird Lionel Ritchie, it doesn’t appear that he inherited his gift of singing. Lionel Messi has been known to forego singing altogether, with fans noticing that he is even silent during the Argentine national anthem at football games.
Lionel is a great football player, but he’s no singer. Keep reading to find out more about why Lionel Messi doesn’t sing his country’s anthem and which football players relish the opportunity to do so.
Can Lionel Messi Sing?
Lionel Andres Messi, born on 24 June 1987, grew up in a family that loved football which helped him develop his love for the sport from very early on. At 4 years old, Lionel joined his first football club, Grandoli, with his father as his coach.
Apart from being one of the best football players in history, Lionel has a surprising hidden talent. He can play the piano! Or can he? In 2017, a video was shared across Lionel’s social media platforms that showed him playing the UEFA Champions League anthem on the piano.
Fans were shocked to learn that their favorite footballer was also an accomplished pianist, but their dreams were dashed when the truth was revealed a day later. Tomas Fosch, a professional pianist, had acted as Lionel’s double in the Adidas advert.
It seems that every drop of talent Lionel has in his body is channeled into his football skills, because he has not developed a gift for singing. YouTube shorts have been created of Lionel singing along to songs while driving, but that is more for relaxing and less to showcase a specific talent.
Why Do People Wonder About Lionel Messi’s Singing Ability?
Being an international icon to the extent that Lionel is means living under a microscope at all times. This is heightened when there is a football match that almost every fan is watching from all around the world. The first time Lionel’s singing ability came into question was when fans noticed he did not sing the national anthem.
This continued for 10 years and became a controversial topic amongst fans and reporters alike. Effecting Lionel’s Argentinan fans the most as it started to be viewed as disrespect for his country. This forced Lionel to respond to these accusations.
Addressing fans about their question about his loyalty to Argentina, Lionel explained that it does not matter if he sings or not, because he is moved when the anthem is played and does not need to sing it to know what it means to him and his fellow teammates.
He surprised fans in 2019 when he was seen singing the chorus of the national anthem before the match began when Argentina played against Venezuela. He explained in a post-match interview, “Today I felt like it, so I sang (the national anthem).”
Famous Footballers That Can Sing
Unlike Lionel, there are football players who can carry a tune. Being synonymous with a historically macho sport doesn’t mean you can’t have talents in more delicate areas like singing. These famous football stars are also musically inclined.
Alisson Becker, named the Best FIFA Goalkeeper in 2019, is a rock music fan that has covered Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back In Anger” as part of his initiation when joining Liverpool. Alisson can also be seen singing his children to sleep while playing his acoustic guitar.
In 1988, Ruud Gullit collaborated with the Dutch reggae group Revelation Time and lent his bass and singing skills to their anti-apartheid single “South Africa”.Four years earlier Ruud released his first single titled “Not The Dancing Kind” and it peaked in the Hollan top 10.
Sergio Ramos released a song in 2018. He sang and composed “Another Star In Your Heart” with Flamenco Demarco and it has more than 20 million views on YouTube. It seems that Sergio’s fans will back him no matter what he sets his mind to.
Jackson Martinez is not only a talented striker, but he can rap too. In 2018 Jackson had not had the best of luck in his football career, but his confidence was not too affected because he wowed fans with the announcement of his rap album release.