Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge Messi, expressed his pride for his son’s fifth Ballon d'Or win via an open letter, published by Spanish paper Marca:
“Our family is so proud of him because everything he has accomplished he has done so through hard work.
The day that we left Argentina with a suitcase full of dreams and illusions but also fears, Lionel seemed to enjoy that journey. Surely, he was only focused on arriving in Barcelona and staying there. But I also imagine that in his mind he was formulating the idea of triumph at what he most loved: Football.
Today he is where we never thought he could arrive, a magical place to which he started to reach in 2007 and year over year until the ‘world of football’ had decided to give him recognition five times as the best player on the planet.
Our family is so proud of him because everything he has accomplished he has done so through hard work, leaving behind things of great value. Lionel’s spirit and his will to succeed, like his desire to improve with each day, create an enthusiasm of enormous courage for all of us who are around him.”