Having just turned 39 and reached yet another World Cup final as captain of the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi continues to prove why he is a walking challenge to the laws of biology.

The passage of time seems to suit him better and better, to the extent that the Inter Miami forward has just received his 17th nomination for the Ballon d'Or award, a prize he has already won eight times.

However, to achieve this unprecedented longevity and maintain elite form for two decades, Messi had to undergo a change in his regime that few people know about.

Recurrent bouts of vomiting

More than a decade ago, the Rosario legend was going through his darkest period. The footballing world repeatedly witnessed the striker stopping in the middle of matches, both for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team, to vomit on the pitch.

Added to these alarming scenes were a number of muscle injuries that hampered his consistency and threatened to cut his career short prematurely. No one understood what was happening.

The answer lay in his diet. The trigger for those physical ailments was a completely disordered diet, incompatible with top-level competition.

Messi himself admitted as much years later. At the age of 22 or 23, he was eating chocolate, biscuits and drinking fizzy drinks without restraint, unaware of the real impact on his body. His talent was still there, but his physical condition began to falter.

To halt the decline and safeguard his career, the star took a drastic step: he sought out an expert in the field and radically overhauled his dietary regime.

The professional intervention: Poser’s ‘Super Petrol’

Messi travelled to Sacile, Italy, to put himself in the hands of Dr Giuliano Poser, a specialist known for detoxifying the bodies of elite athletes.

The doctor’s philosophy was uncompromising and straightforward: “Sugar is the worst thing for your muscles.”

Poser completely overhauled the Argentine’s diet, introducing what he dubbed ‘super fuel’ for the body: water, extra virgin olive oil, whole grains, fresh fruit and organic vegetables.

Conversely, he banned refined sugar, white flour, excessive red meat, fizzy drinks and ultra-processed foods.

This nutritional reset forced the captain to “shed a few tears” at first, as the doctor himself acknowledged, but it laid the physical foundations for the second stage of his career.

The change was immediate and effective. This new and consistent discipline was reflected in everything that followed...

Impact on the pitch: Sporting immortality

The results of the dietary change were devastating for his opponents. Messi lost weight, regained his explosive speed and stopped suffering from the muscle injuries that had been hampering his consistency.

Most importantly: the bouts of vomiting disappeared for good.

With a revitalised body capable of withstanding the demands of the fixture list, he led Barcelona to victory in the Champions League in 2015.

Years later, with the national team, he ended the drought by winning the Copa América (2021 and 2024), the Finalissima and the long-awaited 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Far from entering a decline after turning 30, he went on to win four further Ballon d’Or awards after changing his diet.

Today, the Rosario-born player’s continued relevance is the ultimate proof of that success. Consulting a nutritionist was a key decision for his career.

Having guided Argentina to another final at the 2026 World Cup and once again featuring amongst the nominees for the Ballon d'Or at nearly 40 years of age, he demonstrates that raw talent alone is not enough to achieve immortality unless it is accompanied by unwavering dietary discipline.