Messive affair

Football and showbiz stars gather in northern Argentina tomorrow for Latin America’s celebrity wedding bash of the decade when Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi marries his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. Popstar Shakira and her husband, Messi’s teammate Gerard Pique, are expected among the 260 guests. They will join old friends of the couple and footballers such as his Barcelona strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar.

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The party at a casino in his hometown Rosario will be a respite for the player from his legal woes. A Spanish court last month rejected his appeal against a conviction for tax fraud.

Royal date

Brunette bride Roccuzzo, 29, will wear a dress by Spanish designer Rosa Clara, which has been flown over from Barcelona. The designer has dressed stars such as actresses Eva Longoria and Sofia Vergara as well as Spain’s Queen Letizia. “Rosario lives and breathes football. That is another reason Lionel feels so comfortable here,” the city’s mayor, Monica Fein, said. “I think he is excited that through his wedding his friends (from abroad) will be able to get to know the city he loves so much,” she added.

Eat code

The civil wedding ceremony and party will all take place inside the venue, and the guests will be lodged there too. Messi, 30, considered a man of few words, has reportedly asked chefs to cook local delicacies such as “locro” stew and “empanada” pasties for the feast.

The star dish is a typical Argentine beef roast, including chitterlings, gizzards and kidneys. Uruguayan pop bands Rombai and Marama plus singer Karina, wife of Argentina footballer Sergio Aguero, will perform at the dance. It is not known whether the guests will also get a song from Shakira, the Colombian diva famous for “Whenever, Wherever”!

Tight security

As many as 155 journalists have been accredited to cover the bash, but have been warned that they will have no access to the guests. Security will be handled by a private team of Israeli specialists used by Messi for all his excursions.

Messi and Roccuzzo live in Barcelona where he plays, but still return regularly to Rosario on holiday.

The couple had their two children baptized there last year: Thiago, 4, and one-year-old Mateo, both born in Barcelona. —AFP