Ex-Manchester City and England midfielder and coach Joey Barton has commented on the impact of hormone therapy on the career of Inter Miami MLS club and Argentina forward Lionel Messi.
The Daily Mail quoted Barton as saying:
There's a big asterisk on Messi's name for me, because he got on the steroids and all that at a young age to mess with his growth. Messi's been genetically modified at a young age, so there has to be an asterisk next to his name. He was given growth hormone and all kinds of medications to help him grow. As far as I know no one else has done that.
In 1997, a medical examination showed a somatotropin (growth hormone) deficiency in Messi, who was ten years old at the time. For this reason Messi had to take daily injections of growth hormone into his quadriceps. The course of treatment helped the Argentine to grow to 169 centimeters.
On 3 May, Inter Miami's official social media account voted Messi, 36, the league's best player in April. In four regular season MLS matches, the forward recorded six goals and made three assists. In total, the footballer played seven matches in the MLS-2024 season, scoring nine times and making four assists.
On 4 May, in a conversation with EFE, general manager of Inter Miami Xavier Asensi said that with the acquisition of Messi, the club's budget has risen to the 130 million euro mark and can increase further.