Extraordinary Lionel Messi interview ponders family, fatherhood and football

Everyone wants to hear what the world's greatest footballer has to say. Nonetheless, Lionel Messi is a man of few words. And why shouldn't he be? Messi, who has won the Ballon d'Or an unprecedented four times — all in a row — and is the current favourite for an outlandish fifth overall, simply prefers to let his play do the talking.

Flagging Messi down for interviews has become a challenge in of itself. And in those fleeting instances when he obliges and chooses to vocalise his inner thoughts, it is his humbleness and propensity for deflecting attention that leaves everyone craving for more.

And here we have it.

In an exclusive wide-ranging interview for Yahoo! Sport, Messi sat down with his official biographer, Guillem Balagué, and offered uncharacteristically candid remarks on a bucketful of intriguing topics, including family, fatherhood and, lest we forget, football.

Here are the highlights of what he had to say on:

Daily life

"[It's] just the same [for me] as any other sportsman that has to complete his training regime and then do just the same as any other person does and rest with his family and friends."

Combining fatherhood and football

"In a footballing sense nothing has changed but perhaps maybe it has in regards to facing those responsibilities that any father has with regards to the raising of his children."

Dealing with defeat

"I...hate losing a game, but when I arrive home I do know that I will have the consolation of seeing my sons."

The current injury

"[It was] a strange feeling, different from other times. I knew that it wasn’t a minor hit and that it was something more serious than just a slight knock."

Now, we don't want to give away everything the FC Barcelona striker revealed in his Q&A. For the rest of what Messi had to say, check out the full interview.