There were a lot of Rumors happening lately related to Argentinian Football star , Does Messi have Autism and why did many have to speculate about his intellectual disability; No, Lionel Messi does not have autism.let’s discuss in detail to conclude whether the rumors or True or Not.
Table of Contents
Who is Lionel Messi? Is he autistic?
Lionel Messi was born on 24th July 1987. He plays forward in Argentina National Team and is regarded as one of the most extraordinary soccer players of all time. Recently there was an Opinion about whether Messi has autism or suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. This rumour was started because of youtube video called – Oh My Goal. Romario mentioned journalist Roberto Amando that Messi had trouble interacting with his childhood friends and other people, and there were also other claims that Messi had difficulty interacting with reporters. Here is a conclusion of what we think about this behaviour
Messi does not have autism; a football player can’t have autistic tendencies; soccer players must have basic coordination skills, Decision making, concentration and control when on the field. A person suffering from Aspergers Syndrome can’t have these exceptional skills.
In Recent studies, it was shown that kids who were introverts showed similar characteristics to an autistic child; we can conclude, based on the above research, that Messi should have been shy, silent, and introverted in his childhood. Autistic people commonly exhibit all these traits.
How are Autistic People Different?
Autistic people have trouble communicating with other people. They are generally reticent, they have a habit of obsession towards objects, and they have problems seeing people eye to eye; people with ASD repeat things again and again. Now let’s look at how soccer players interact and why autistic people cannot participate. Soccer is a team sport, and players should have the coordination to pass a ball. If Messi does have autism, he will always be playing routinely, and he can’t coordinate between each playoff. Autistic people have difficulty changing their habits.
Signs of Asperger’s Syndrome
I have listed a few reasons why people with autism are not qualified to play football. They are mentioned below:
1. They have trouble interacting with others.
2. They have inferior coordination skills.
3. They have difficulty concentrating
4. They hate loud noises and sensitive lights
5. It is impossible for autistic people to have different routines every time a new play is initiated.
Mental Health in Football players
Soccer players suffer a lot from mental health. Research has shown that they face various challenges, from physical to cognitive difficulties, due to pressure and the different needs of thier profession. Some common health issues are mentioned below.
- Performance anxiety during a game is a common occurrence due to the stress of making mistakes.
- Football players experience depression due to losing interest and routine daily practice.
- The demanding training schedule poses tremendous stress and makes the player stressed out.
- If a player is injured, that keeps them out of the game for a long time. This frustrates them, and they develop a fear that makes them believe they cannot return to the game.
List of Football Players (Assumed to be Autistic)
1. James Mcclean
James Mcclean is the only footballer who is diagnosed to be autistic; he is an Irish player who himself had acknowledged in his Instagram Profile when he came to understand his daughter is autistic based on a similar personality both they shared. James decided to undergo an ASD test, and it was concluded he had autism
2. Paul Merson
Paul Merson had difficulty in school. He was not able to read or write; this is a typical case of Dyslexic; this is a commonly mentioned learning disorder where 1 in 1000 children suffer; this was mistakenly identified as autistic and was rumored in social media.
3. Tim Howard
Tim Howard is a Goalkeeper who last played in the use championship club; he was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome, which suffers from common cramps, and they do blink a lot, but this is not related to autism; people who were saying tim howard suffers from autism are nothing but a baseless rumour.
Does Messi have any Physical Disability?
Messi suffers from GHD( Growth hormone disorder ), which stopped his growth at a young age. However, this did not stop him from winning 7 Ballon D’ors Awards; he is regarded as the greatest football player after Maradona.
Lionel Messi is one of the key players in Argentina football; he has millions of fans worldwide. Despite his difficulty, he has always proved he is the most capable player in the world.
Final Thoughts
There was never an official statement from his family or other players acknowledging he had autism. All these are rumors spread among social media. There were some reports he exhibited these symptoms, but we can conclude that was his nature from a young age; all of these rumors or criticism will not change our view about him. He will always be our favorite footballer.
