CONGRATULATIONS ! Lionel Messi Weds Childhood Sweetheart - Drop Your Well Wishes [Photos ]

Lionel Messi said "I do" to childhood sweetheart and mother of their two children Antonella Roccuzzo on Friday in his Argentine hometown Rosario, where footballers and celebrities gathered for the "wedding of the century."

Following the private ceremony, the couple
appeared happy and relaxed as they walked a
red carpet before hundreds of journalists at a
hotel and casino complex, Roccuzzo donning
a tight, mermaid-style gown by Spanish
designer Rosa Clara.

The couple's children Thiago, four, and Mateo,
one, had front seats at the ceremony attended
by some 260 guests, including Shakira and her
husband, Messi's teammate Gerard Pique, and
numerous footballers such as Messi's
Barcelona strike partners Neymar and Luis
Suarez.

Argentine media called it the "wedding of the
century" for Rosario, the gritty northern port
city where Messi, 30, and his bride, 29, met
when the player was nine years old.

Former Barca and current Chelsea star Cesc
Fabregas was in attendance, along with
Argentina and Manchester City striker Sergio
Aguero.

Roast gizzards
The party was to be a respite for Messi from
his legal woes. A Spanish court last month
rejected his appeal against a tax fraud
conviction.

Brunette bride Roccuzzo wore a white, curve-
hugging dress with a deep sweetheart
neckline and embroidered straps by Rosa
Clara - a Spanish designer who has dressed
actress Eva Longoria and Spain's Queen
Letizia.

The wedding was held at 2200 GMT in the City
Center casino, which stands right next to a
crime-ridden slum run by drug gangs.

The civil wedding ceremony and party were all
slated to take place inside the venue, and the
guests will be lodged there too.

The feast will reportedly feature Argentine
delicacies such as roast gizzards.

Uruguayan pop bands Rombai and Marama
plus singer Karina, Aguero's wife, will perform
at the reception.

There were also rumors that there would be
singing by Shakira, the Colombian diva famous
for "Hips Don't Lie" and "Whenever,
Wherever."

Shakira had recently denied rumors that she
would miss the wedding due to a quarrel with
Roccuzzo.

Humble couple
Messi and Roccuzzo live in Barcelona where
he plays, but still return regularly to Rosario
for vacations.

He moved to Spain when he was 13 to join FC
Barcelona, but the couple kept in touch.

Messi has gone on to win the top Ballon d'Or
award five times and is widely regarded as
the world's best footballer.

But various old friends of the couple in their
home city said the bride and groom are
humble folk who have never forgotten where
they come from.

"They are the love of each other's lives,"
Messi's childhood friend Diego Vallejos told
AFP.

Instead of wedding presents, they have asked
for donations to a children's charity.

'Leo and Anto'
The couple have reportedly spent the past
two weeks in Rosario with family, but have
kept out of sight of the reporters who have
invaded the city.

Rumors circulated of bachelor and bachelorette parties, but the only evidence that emerged was a photo, posted by ex- Barca goalkeeper Jose Pinto, of Messi
enjoying a barbecue with a few friends.

Some friends of Roccuzzo have shared pictures of her relaxing with relatives.

On the eve of the wedding, a festive atmosphere reigned in the Las Heras neighborhood where Messi grew up.

"We will celebrate," said Damian Lugoni, 27, a
local sausage sandwich vendor.

"I wish good luck to Leo and Anto, who is just
as simple and nice as him."

"We are all happy for them," said Lisandro
Urteaga, an artist who was called in to paint a
mural of Messi in the neighborhood for the
occasion.

"Let him celebrate the way someone like him
deserves. He is a real example as a human
being - although when he plays football he
doesn't seem to be from this