Why is Messi nicknamed the Flea? Story behind why he is called La Pulga | CPT PPP Coverage

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Some know him as Leo, others as “The Little Magician.” Many call him the GOAT.

Any way you slice it, though, it’s hard not to notice Lionel Messi on the pitch. He wades through outstretched defenses with ease, an amoeba on the world stage. Messi is the greatest player ever. He’s also one of the most aesthetically pleasing.

The Argentina No. 10 is still seeking his own bit of World Cup hardware. But with the Lionel Scaloni side bursting at the seams with exciting young talent, it feels as if this is as good a chance as any for Messi and company to go where few Argentinians have gone before.

Speaking of the diminutive dazzler, Messi has earned plenty of plaudits — and nicknames — over the course of his sparkling career. But few roll off the tongue as smoothly as La Pulga or The Flea.

MORE: Lionel Messi 2022 World Cup stats and history

So, why was the soccer phenom billed with such a etymologically sound nickname? The Sporting News details the fact and fiction behind one of world football’s greatest ever monikers.

Lionel Messi nickname, explained

With eye-catching agility, an innate ability to get the ball on his left foot and a passing repertoire like few others across the beautiful game, Messi has been a footballing celebrity ever since he started turning out for Barcelona as a teenager.

His bug-related nickname goes back even further, though. Messi has aways been tiny — as a child, he had to receive injections because of a deficiency in human growth hormone.

MORE: World Cup top scorer tracker 2022

Despite being towered over by hulking figures at a young age, Messi still was an artist with the ball at his foot. And his older brothers took notice, calling him La Pulgita — the little flea — as a child. La Pulgita soon became La Pulga over the years. And as Messi continued terrorizing defenders, first in Argentina then across the planet, that name stuck.

Some Spanish publications have taken to adding atomica in an effort to describe Messi’s superhuman-like ability to squeeze through the fault lines of opposition defense. Either way, whether you call him La Pulga, Messi or something else, one thing is clear: He is the greatest to ever play the beautiful game. And if the Albiceleste have any chance of lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy, it will be because of its flea-like captain.