Messi’s ancestry study uncovers previously unknown Brazilian link in family roots

Lionel Messi’s family history includes an unexpected Brazilian chapter dating back more than 120 years, according to new genealogical research by an Italian historian.

The study, reported by Brazilian outlet Globo, has found that one of the Argentina captain’s maternal great-grandfathers was born in the state of Sao Paulo before the family later settled in Argentina – a journey that also involved a change in the family surname.

Italian researcher Fiorenzo Santini, a specialist in genealogy, spent several years piecing together a detailed family tree for Messi after becoming intrigued by the origins of the surname “Messi” during the forward’s early years at Barcelona.

His work confirms that on Messi’s father’s side, the line traces back to Angelo Messi, who left the Italian town of Recanati for Rosario in Argentina in 1893, travelling with his wife to start a new life in South America.

The Brazil connection emerges on Messi’s mother’s side. Santini established that the player’s maternal great-grandfather, Ranieri Cocccittini, was born in San Severino Marche in Italy before emigrating with his wife, Rosa Recchizza, to Brazil aboard the ship Washington. The couple arrived at the port of Santos on 20 September 1899.

Name altered on arrival in Brazil

Historical documents examined in the study show that the voyage to Brazil led to changes in both first name and surname, due to the difficulties officials faced when registering foreign names at the time. Ranieri’s name appears in Brazilian records as “Ramiro Conccittini”, a modification Santini says was consistent with practices affecting many migrants in that period.

Once in Brazil, the family settled in the state of Sao Paulo. Messi’s great-grandfather worked on a farm in the Rincao area before the family moved to the city of Ribeirao Preto. Two children were born there, including Arderigo in 1904.

Around a year after Arderigo’s birth, the family left Brazil and moved again, this time to the Rosario region in Argentina, where they established the branch of the family that would eventually produce one of football’s greatest players.

It was there that Antonio Coccittini, Messi’s grandfather, was born, followed by Messi’s mother, Celia Maria Cuccittini. Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini was then born on 24 June 1987.

Research led to honorary civic recognition

Santini said his investigation ran from 2019 to 2022. The key to unlocking the Brazilian link came when he noticed there were no records of the surname “Cuccittini” in Italy, prompting a deeper search through migration archives and contact with relatives of Messi’s mother.

Those enquiries led to the conclusion that the change of both name and surname took place during the family’s stay in Brazil, a discovery that helped explain the discrepancy between the Italian origins and the later spelling used in Argentina.

The findings were instrumental in Messi being granted the title of “honorary citizen” of San Severino Marche in 2022, in recognition of his ancestral ties to the Italian town where part of his family story began.

According to the study, there are no surviving records indicating that any of Messi’s relatives remained in Ribeirao Preto after the family left Brazil for Argentina in 1905.

However, a symbolic link between the Argentina captain and the Brazilian city endures. One of its streets is named Martinico Prado, after the owner of the farm in Sao Paulo state who hosted Messi’s ancestors during their time in Brazil, before their final migration to Argentina.