Messi was diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency, which restricted his growth when he was just 11. Along with the height problem, he also suffered lower immunity and poor vision due to this deficiency. The only treatment was injecting human growth hormone externally. According to Messi, “I had to start a treatment to help me to grow. Every night I had to stick a needle into my legs, night after night after night, every day of the week, and this over a period of three years.” His first club, River Plate, didn’t want to pay for his hormonal treatment which was costly, around $1500 each month. The former coach of Newell who also became the technical staff at Barcelona, Adrian Coria said “Perhaps we weren’t aware of it then.”