Antonio Cassano has chosen to name his newborn son after Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
The Inter forward is a big fan of the Argentinian maestro and has chosen the name Lionel in honour of the 4-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“I named him Lionel because I’m a massive fan of the best player in history. My wife wasn’t keen, but then I convinced her,” he stated in an interview with TV program Undici.
“In my opinion, Messi is the most important player in history. I’m in love with him on a footballing level.”
Little Lionel, who was born on Monday, is the second child born to Cassano and his wife Carolina. Their first child, Christopher, was born in 2011.
The 30-year-old Italian international has previously played for Roma, Real Madrid, Sampdoria, and AC Milan, where he spent a season and a half and won a Scudetto before being traded to Inter in a deal that included Giampaolo Pazzini plus approximately €7 million in favor of the Nerazzurri.
Cassano, great player but too many issues. He should’ve been one of the fowards called up for the NT but his attitude issues have really prevented him from becoming the player that he should be.
He did well with Balotelli at the Euros and it’s a shame he’s not being included for the WC qualifiers.