Messi was diagnosed with a growth disorder when he was 11. How he overcame it

When he was around 11, Messi's family realised that even though he was playing among other children his age, he was always the smallest of them. (Image credit: @EdmundOris/Twitter)

Growing up in a football-loving family, Lionel Messi was naturally drawn toward the game and soon began to showcase his skills at the local club, but there was one condition that held him back from playing to his full potential -- a growth disorder.

Messi's family realised that even though he was playing among other children his age, he was always the smallest of them. Medical check-ups unearthed that the child had a growth hormone deficiency (GHD) -- a condition caused by insufficient amounts of growth hormone in the body, leading to impaired growth and development.

Messi had to be injected with growth hormones in his leg each night when he was only 12, but his family was struggling to continue with his treatment. That's when FC Barcelona came to their rescue. The club offered 13-year-old Messi a spot on their team and even sponsored his medical treatment.

At 11 years of age, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone disorder, or GHD.

Basically means his growth was stunted.

His list of accomplishments puts him up the greatest to ever play the game but his career was almost over before it even began pic.twitter.com/9S3xI183bW

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— Edmund ||World Champion (@EdmundOris) June 24, 2022

The family then moved to Spain when Messi's career began to take shape.

At 17, he became the youngest player in FC Barcelona's history to score a goal.

When #Messi was 11, he was diagnosed w/growth hormone deficiency (GHD), a condition caused by insufficient amounts of growth hormone in the body, leading to an impaired growth & development. His family cud not afford the treatment for long.

then miracle happened.. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/JnhrdzEIR8

— Naresh Nambisan | നരേഷ് (@nareshbahrain) December 19, 2022

Read more: For Messi, and Argentina, the (Extra) Wait Is Worth It

Decades later, during the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, Messi finally crowned his record-breaking career with the one trophy that was missing as he produced a performance that will go down in FIFA World Cup history -- scoring a first-half penalty and netting again in extra time and leading Argentia to defeat France by 4-2.

Later as Messi chanted "We're champions of the world!" on the stadium microphone, tens of thousands of blue and white-shirted Argentina fans rose to salute him.

"Obviously, I wanted to finish my career with this. I can't ask for anymore," the 35-year-old said on Argentine TV. "My career is coming to end because these are my final years."

Read more: FIFA World Cup 2022: With win, Lionel Messi moves out of Diego Maradona’s shadow