Last night, when Meriton said that his 5-year-old son has autism, Romeo said that Lionel Messi also has autism, but how true is this?

First of all, we must say that there have been many theories and memes online about the Argentinian footballer that he has autism. Romeo, like many others, may have fallen prey to the memes and videos circulating around, which capture various moments of Messi on and off the pitch and label him as a person with autism.

In 2013, in a video published on the YouTube channel, "Soccer Stories Oh My Goal", the former Brazilian soccer player, Romário de Souza Faria, otherwise known as Romário, said that Messi has Asperger syndrome (a form of the spectrum of autism, which is related to the development of an individual). In the video, Romário said that the Brazilian author and journalist, Roberto Amado, said that Messi was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when he was 8 years old. Of course, to support his arguments, Romário highlights some "characteristics", which were previously "identified" by the author Amado, who made this claim without concrete grounds and based on rumors.

According to Amado and Romário, Messi has signs of autism, as he is extremely shy, and even has the nickname "el pequeno mudito" ("the little mute"), because since childhood, he rarely spoke to his peers and then, also with teammates.

Also, Romário said that his style on the field, extreme concentration and superior to other players, as well as unusual behavior in some cases "verify" the diagnosis in question.

Persistent difficulties or changes in communication and social interactions are well-known behaviors and characteristics of people with autism, but this does not mean that every shy and timid person is autistic. There are some subtle differences, which are noticeable from the childhood of autistic people, which are not always the same as the behaviors of an introverted or shy person.

Research also shows that people with autism have an extra ability to focus on certain tasks and passions, however, this is not a hypothesis that should be taken as a basis in Messi's case, as many footballers do the same .

Despite all the unconfirmed news and theories, Messi's family members themselves have stated that all this is false information and there has been no such evidence or diagnosis presented. Contrary to rumors, Messi and his family have never made any "discovery" or discussed such a diagnosis.

To date, the only formal diagnosis that Messi has received from public knowledge is that of growth hormone deficiency (GHD), thus earning the nickname "the flea" on the field. This condition is caused by the insufficient amount of growth hormone in the body during childhood, which made him receive hormone injections.

Dr. Diego Schwarzstein, was the one who treated Messi for GHD in Argentina and dismissed rumors of an autism diagnosis. "Leo has never been diagnosed with Asperger's, or any other form of autism. These are holes".

However, autism is quite common among celebrities and various stars have admitted that they have been diagnosed with autism.

Some VIPs with autism: Anthony Hopkins, David Byrne, Sia, Breanna Clark, Satoshi Tajiri, Andy Kaufman, Andy Kaufman, Andy Warhol etc.