Argentine sports presenter Sofi Martínez has defiantly denied rumors of an affair with Lionel Messi, calling them “ridiculous”.
Martínez has risen to fame in recent years for his success covering the Argentine national soccer team, in addition to his work on global sporting events such as the Paris Olympics, Formula One and the Champions League for ESPN and Public TV. from Argentina.
The journalist's work has allowed her to interview several of Argentina's most important sports stars, including Messi. In particular, Martínez went viral for his emotional interview with the 37-year-old during Argentina's triumphant 2022 World Cup.
The Inter Miami star's public interactions with Martínez have sparked rumors that they could be romantically involved, despite Messi's seven-year marriage to his childhood sweetheart Antonela Roccuzzo, with whom he shares three children.
However, Martínez criticized the accusations and spoke about the pain it has caused her and her family.
“Many times when your exposure increases it brings things that are not so good and my family suffers a lot,” Martínez admitted during an appearance on 'PH: We Can Talk' on the Argentine channel Telefe.
Argentine sports presenter Sofía Martínez silenced rumors of a romance with Lionel Messi
The soccer star has been married to his childhood sweetheart Antonela Roccuzzo since 2017.
The reporter who rose to fame has interviewed the Inter Miami star on multiple occasions
'This year people started talking more and more about 'What's wrong with the way he looks at you?', things like that, and I got caught in the middle of something that made me feel ridiculous having to clarify it,' Martínez added, referring to unfounded fan theories claiming the pair exchanged flirtatious glances.
Martínez also claimed that she had only become the target of rumors because of her gender. He told the audience that 'We Can Talk' host Andy Kusnetzoff might look at Messi the same way but it wouldn't spark speculation because he is a man.
Neither Messi nor Antonela have addressed the rumours, despite previous claims that the mother of three was jealous of her husband's working relationship with Martínez.
Martínez, who previously knew Antonela, dismissed those claims, insisting that she did not “know where she comes from” in a statement. past interview with Partners of the show.
The journalist also praised Antonela for the way she 'handles the madness' surrounding the world football superstar.
Messi and Antonela met for the first time in the 90s in their hometown, Rosario. The Argentine was barely five years old when he met the love of his life.
Antonela was the cousin of Messi's childhood friend, Lucas Scaglia. The two lovebirds ended up spending a considerable amount of time together when they were young.
Messi and Antonela's relationship blossomed during their youth and the pair stayed in touch when the number 10 left for Barcelona at the age of 13. Then, in 2008, Messi and Antonela made their relationship public.
Martínez criticized the accusations and spoke about the pain it has caused her and her family.
Martínez has risen to prominence in recent years for his success covering multiple sporting events, particularly the Argentine national team's victories in the World Cup and Copa América.
Messi shares three children (Thiago, 12, Mateo, 9 and Ciro, 6) with his wife Antonela
Messi and Antonela welcomed their first child, Thiago, into the world in 2012 before having two more children, Mateo (2015) and Ciro (2018).
The couple married in 2017 in a lavish wedding at a luxury hotel in the heart of Rosario.
She is a huge supporter of her husband and is regularly seen cheering him on from the stands at his games.
Meanwhile, Martínez revealed that she was as single as possible when pressed about her relationship status in an interview with Channel 9 following her split from journalist Diego Leuco in late 2023 and amid more romance rumors linking her to Argentine television personality Marcos Ginocchio.