The figure of
Lionel Messi
reaches every
corner of the world
and with the passage of time he grows bigger and bigger.
Thousands of boys, girls, men and women
idolize the idol of the Argentine national team
.
It is no longer a surprise that there are hundreds of
Rosario star t-shirts
anywhere .
What continues to attract attention, and is growing, is the
fanaticism for Messi
in the country
of the Argentine National Team's classic rival
,
Brazil
.
This is the case of
Manel Zinho
(36) who achieved some
fame on Instagram and Tik Tok
for uploading videos
playing soccer
and for adopting the nickname
Mini Messi
.
He lives in the north of the neighboring country in
Touros
, a coastal city in the state of
Rio Grande do Norte
. He suffers from dwarfism, but that does not prevent him from playing the sport he loves most:
soccer
.
"I am Messi's number one fan, he is my idol, he is the greatest thing there is in football. When I saw the things he did in Barcelona I fell in love with him and because I had a certain skill with the ball they started calling me Mini Messi"
says
Manel Zinho
.
He started uploading content to his networks
three years ago together with his brother
, who suffers from the same thing as him, and they call him
"Mini Neymar"
.
Regarding what
wearing Messi's number 10
generates in him , he says:
"When I put on his shirt I feel immense joy, I jump onto the field much more motivated to be able to play in the best possible way, I feel unstoppable
. "
He uses his content and the exposure that the networks give him to
help his family and be able to provide economic support at home
.
He dedicates himself only to playing soccer and
has the support of his entire family so he can continue creating content
.
As a child
he suffered a lot of bullying
due to his condition and that caused him many problems, but
"by reflecting on Messi I was able to overcome all that
. "
He has his own team called
Mini Champions League
and participates in
recreational tournaments
where he films those matches and uses it for his social networks.
"My biggest difficulty is my size, I don't have the same strength as the others, but my ability surpasses all that
," says
Mini Messi
and clarifies that despite not being on equal terms, he always
leaves everything when he enters the playing field.
for the sport and for his team
.
Mini Messi before playing soccer
He also explains that they call his brother
Mini Neymar
because he also
has a very colorful game and throws luxuries
like the 10 of the Verdeamarela.
"On the court we have a lot of fun playing and uploading our content
. "
"My dream is to be able to see Messi playing on the field, not to mention if I can share a chat and have him sign a shirt for me
," he says, adding that his other dream is to be able to watch a game at
La Bombonera
.
In addition to his fanaticism for
Messi
and
Inter Miami
, he is also a fan of
Flamengo
.
About the importance of soccer in his life,
Manel Zinho
says:
"Football is my life, it's everything, it's the best thing I have
. "
His love for Messi is so great that
when Argentina plays against Brazil his heart is divided
, but he wants Argentina to win just to see the captain of
the world champion team
happy .
Mini Messi playing against his brother Mini Neymar
His videos on social networks are very popular,
on Instagram he has more than 350 thousand followers
, while on
Tik Tok
he has a similar number, he has
310 thousand followers
and his videos have millions of views.
She is a rising soccer celebrity in Rio Grande do Norte
.