Lionel Messi has won eight Ballon d'Or awards, close to 50 official titles and scored over 900 goals in his career. He is the most successful footballer in the history of the sport. However, to achieve and maintain these figures over two decades, his natural talent alone was not enough.

Between 2013 and 2014, the Argentine’s physical condition showed clear warning signs. The football world repeatedly saw the striker stop in the middle of matches, both for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team, to vomit on the pitch. Added to this were various muscle injuries that affected his performance and consistency.

The main cause of these problems lay off the pitch. The trigger was his diet. The player himself later acknowledged that his daily habits were far from ideal for a top-level athlete. So much so that his body had begun to take its toll.

To halt this decline and protect his career, Messi took a drastic decision: he realised he needed professional help and a radical change to his daily diet to fundamentally alter what was gradually putting his physical condition at risk.

That strict adjustment put a complete stop to the bouts of vomiting and reduced his injuries. Furthermore, it was the key factor in extending his time at the top. But what exactly was the secret formula that allowed Messi to reset his metabolism and continue winning the Ballon d’Or after turning 30?

The confession: The origin of the vomiting

For a time, images of Messi retching or vomiting in the middle of a match became a regular occurrence. It happened in matches with Argentina and with FC Barcelona. For months, the sports press and various specialists speculated about multiple causes: stress, excessive nervousness or chronic gastric problems.

However, to the surprise of many professionals, the real reason was simpler and directly linked to his daily routine: a disordered diet that was harmful to a high-performance athlete. Without going any further, the player himself cleared up the doubts years later.

In March 2018, ahead of the World Cup in Russia, during an exclusive interview for the programme 'La Cornisa', Messi publicly acknowledged that his poor eating habits were the sole cause of those physical ailments. With complete honesty, he described what his diet was like before seeking professional help.

"I was 22 or 23 and knew nothing. I ate chocolate, alfajores, fizzy drinks... Now I eat well: fish, meat, vegetables, salad. Everything is organised and well-balanced. Sometimes I have a glass of wine, but not always. I really noticed the change, especially when it came to vomiting. A lot of things were said, but in the end that was it; I sorted myself out and it didn’t happen again,” he explained.

This official statement confirmed that his talent urgently needed a disciplined structure outside the stadiums. Therefore, after acknowledging the main problem, the next step for Messi and his family was to find the right specialist to begin his transformation.

The professional intervention: The Poser method

After realising that his daily habits were harming him, Messi travelled to Sacile, a small town in northern Italy. There he found the practice of Dr Giuliano Poser, a sports medicine specialist renowned in football circles for his work with stars such as Sergio Agüero, Gonzalo Higuaín, Paulo Dybala and Ángel Di María.

Poser assessed the ‘No. 10’s’ physical condition and designed a strict plan to detoxify his body. The Italian doctor’s philosophy was based on a non-negotiable principle for high performance. He explained it in subsequent statements to the sports press: “Sugar is the worst thing for muscles. The further away you are from sugar, the better.”

"If he wanted to remain at Ballon d’Or level, he had to change... I imagine he must have shed some bitter tears at first. The important thing is that certain foods are processed as little as possible," Poser acknowledged in 'AS', regarding the Argentine footballer’s treatment.

To achieve Messi’s physical transformation, the specialist completely restructured his diet around what he himself dubbed ‘super fuel’ for an athlete’s body. That ‘super fuel’ consisted of incorporating five essential foods.

The 5 key foods he incorporated into his daily routine:

  • Plenty of water: To maintain constant cellular hydration before and after exercise.

  • Extra virgin olive oil: As the main source of healthy fats.

  • Wholemeal cereals: To ensure clean, long-lasting and easily absorbed energy.

  • Fresh fruit: Consumed at specific times of the day to aid recovery.

  • Organic vegetables: Strictly pesticide- and chemical-free.

The 5 foods that were banned or strictly limited:

  • Refined sugar: The main enemy of muscles and recovery, according to the doctor.

  • White or refined flours: These were eliminated because they make digestion extremely difficult.

  • Excessive red meat: Consumption was drastically reduced, despite it being a staple of Argentine culture.

  • Fizzy drinks: Completely eliminated due to their extremely high artificial sugar content.

  • Ultra-processed foods: Chocolate, alfajores and industrial snacks were permanently removed from his daily life.

This dietary change laid the foundations for the second phase of Messi’s career, enabling him to fortify his body for the physical challenges that lay ahead in the coming years and to remain among the world’s elite to this day, practically speaking. The change was effective.

“I was 22 or 23 and knew nothing. I used to eat chocolate, alfajores, fizzy drinks… Now I eat well” – Lionel Messi


The impact on the pitch: Longevity and glory

The physical results of this nutritional reset were immediately apparent. Messi lost weight, regained his explosive speed and stopped suffering the muscle injuries that had been hampering his consistency. Furthermore, as he himself confirmed, the bouts of vomiting disappeared for good.

The impact of this physical transformation quickly translated into titles. With a revitalised body capable of withstanding the rigours of the schedule, he led FC Barcelona to victory in the Champions League in 2015. Years later, with the Argentina national team, he ended a historic drought by winning the Copa América (2021 and 2024) and the long-awaited 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

On an individual level, this discipline was one of the keys to his longevity. Far from beginning a physical decline after turning 30, Messi won four further Ballon d’Or awards (2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023) after changing his diet, cementing a dominance unprecedented in the history of football.

Today, the Argentine’s continued relevance is the ultimate proof of the success of that decision. At almost 40, he is preparing to compete in his sixth World Cup in 2026. A historic milestone and an absolute record that demonstrates a clear lesson: to remain at the top for more than two decades, pure talent is not enough if it is not accompanied by taking care of one’s body.