What Lionel Messi (38) Actually Eats, From Asado to World Cup Match Day
Lionel Messi just turned in a hat trick against Algeria to kick off Argentina’s World Cup 2026 title defense, scoring twice more than anyone in Kansas City expected from a 38 year old playing his sixth World Cup, and tying Miroslav Klose’s all time scoring record in the process.
So naturally, the internet wants to know what exactly the man is eating. Turns out the answer is a strange and lovable mix of strict science and pure Argentine comfort food.
The Sweet Tooth Is Real
For years Messi has insisted his actual taste in food is almost boringly simple. In a chat with Argentine outlet TN30, he listed his go to meals as asado, milanesa and pasta, then admitted a serious weakness for anything sweet.
He’s repeated that sentiment in interviews with Marca too, naming roast, milanesa and pasta as his favorite comfort food, then adding chocolate, dulce de leche or ice cream when dessert comes up.
His mother’s chicken milanesa, breaded and topped with ham, cheese and tomato sauce, reportedly remains his single favorite dish of all time.
Pizza gets a special mention too. Barcelona once revealed his go to post match order was a plain cheese pizza, and in 2023 Messi sparked a minor food scandal by posting a Miami pizza topped only with whole tomatoes, onions and olives, sending fans into a frenzy trying to recreate it, per Mashed.
The Overhaul That Changed His Career
None of that sweetness used to coexist with his job very well. Messi has admitted that his chocolate and soda heavy diet as a young player at Barcelona left him sick on the field.
Everything shifted in 2014 when Italian nutritionist Giuliano Poser stepped in and stripped out sugar, refined flour and most processed food, building his meals instead around olive oil, whole grains, fish and vegetables in a Mediterranean style framework.
Poser was blunt about the reasoning, reportedly telling reporters that sugar is the worst thing for muscle recovery. Within a couple of seasons of that switch, Messi had racked up nearly a goal a game.
Yerba Mate, His One Unbreakable Ritual
If there’s one constant in Messi’s day that has nothing to do with a nutritionist’s spreadsheet, it’s yerba mate.
He’s rarely seen on a training ground or team bus without his gourd, and in a 2019 interview with Marca, he explained his taste for it has evolved over the years, saying he used to drink it sweet but switched to bitter mate and never looked back.
The drink is loaded with antioxidants and natural caffeine, and it’s as much a social ritual shared with teammates as it is a beverage.
The World Cup 2026 Plan
These days his meal plans are designed around biometric feedback, courtesy of Spanish nutritionist Ismael Galancho, and managed day to day at Inter Miami by a team overseen by Dr Maria Antonia Lizarraga Dallo, who has players refuel as quickly as possible after matches with options like pasta salad or protein rich sushi.
Galancho has also gone public with surprisingly simple tricks, like eating vegetables or protein before carbs to blunt a blood sugar spike, something he discussed in a 2025 interview reported by Surrey Live.
What He Eats Before Kickoff
On match day itself, Messi reportedly sticks to easy to digest carbohydrates a few hours before the whistle, often gluten free pasta with olive oil, paired with a banana and plenty of water to avoid any digestive discomfort during play.
It’s a far cry from the nausea and pre-match vomiting he says he used to deal with before the 2014 diet change, and it appears to be working out just fine, given that hat trick against Algeria came twenty years to the day after his very first World Cup goal.
So somewhere between the disciplined plate of olive oil and whole grains and the gourd of bitter mate, there’s still room for a slice of cheese pizza and a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream, which might be the most relatable thing about the greatest player of his generation.
