Lionel Messi
Argentine footballer (born 1987) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi[note 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ⓘ; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was named the world's best player for a record eight times by FIFA.[note 2] Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, and the UEFA Champions League four times.[note 3] With his country, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (eight), and most assists in La Liga (192) and the Copa América (17). He also has the most international goals by a South American male (106). Messi has scored over 800 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club (672).
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Lionel Andrés Messi[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1987-06-24) 24 June 1987 (age 36)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Rosario, Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Forward, attacking midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Inter Miami | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1992–1995 | Grandoli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1995–2000 | Newell's Old Boys | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000–2003 | Barcelona | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003–2004 | Barcelona C | 10 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2005 | Barcelona B | 22 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2021 | Barcelona | 520 | (474) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2021–2023 | Paris Saint-Germain | 58 | (22) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2023– | Inter Miami | 9 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2005 | Argentina U20 | 18 | (14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 | Argentina U23 | 5[lower-greek 1] | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005– | Argentina | 180 | (106) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:45, 2 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:35, 22 November 2023 (UTC) |
Messi relocated to Spain from Argentina aged 13 to join Barcelona, for whom he made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. He established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, and in his first uninterrupted season in 2008–09 he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football; that year, aged 22, Messi won his first Ballon d'Or. Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning four consecutive Ballons d'Or, making him the first player to win the award four times. During the 2011–12 season, he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season, while establishing himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. The following two seasons, Messi finished second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo (his perceived career rival), before regaining his best form during the 2014–15 campaign, becoming the all-time top scorer in La Liga and leading Barcelona to a historic second treble, after which he was awarded a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. Messi assumed captaincy of Barcelona in 2018, and won a record sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019. Out of contract, he signed for French club Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, spending two seasons at the club and winning Ligue 1 twice. Messi joined American club Inter Miami in July 2023, winning the Leagues Cup in August of that year.
An Argentine international, Messi is the country's all-time leading goalscorer and also holds the national record for appearances. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, finishing the tournament with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with his compatriot Diego Maradona, who described Messi as his successor. After his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup (2006), and reached the final of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named young player of the tournament. As the squad's captain from August 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, the 2015 Copa América, winning the Golden Ball, and the 2016 Copa América. After announcing his international retirement in 2016, he reversed his decision and led his country to qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a third-place finish at the 2019 Copa América, and victory in the 2021 Copa América, while winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot for the latter. That same year, Messi received a seventh Ballon d'Or. In 2022, he led Argentina to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he won a record second Golden Ball, scored seven goals including two in the final, and broke the record for most games played at the World Cup (26), later receiving his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or in 2023.
Messi has endorsed sportswear company Adidas since 2006. According to France Football, he was the world's highest-paid footballer for five years out of six between 2009 and 2014, and was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2019 and 2022. Messi was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, 2012, and 2023. In 2020 and 2023, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, with Messi being the first team-sport athlete to win the award. In 2020, Messi was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team and became the second footballer and second team-sport athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.
Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe,[12] the third of four children of Jorge Messi, a steel factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. On his father's side, he is of Italian and Spanish descent, the great-grandson of immigrants from the north-central Adriatic Marche region of Italy, and on his mother's side, he has primarily Italian ancestry.[3] Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving family, "Leo" developed a passion for the sport from an early age, playing constantly with his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom became professional footballers.[13] At the age of four he joined local club Grandoli, where he was coached by his father, though his earliest influence as a player came from his maternal grandmother, Celia, who accompanied him to training and matches.[14] He was greatly affected by her death, shortly before his eleventh birthday; since then, as a devout Roman Catholic, he has celebrated his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky in tribute to his grandmother.[15][16]
"When you saw him you would think: this kid can't play ball. He's a dwarf, he's too fragile, too small. But immediately you'd realise that he was born different, that he was a phenomenon and that he was going to be something impressive."
– Newell's Old Boys youth coach Adrián Coria shares his first impression of the 12-year-old Messi.[17]
A lifelong supporter of Newell's Old Boys, Messi joined the Rosario club when he was six years old. During the six years he played for Newell's, he scored almost 500 goals as a member of "The Machine of '87", the near-unbeatable youth side named for the year of their birth, and regularly entertained crowds by performing ball tricks during half-time of the first team's home games.[18][19] However, his future as a professional player was threatened when, aged 10, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. As his father's health insurance covered only two years of growth hormone treatment, which cost at least $1,000 per month, Newell's agreed to contribute, but later reneged on their promise.[20] He was scouted by Buenos Aires club River Plate, whose playmaker Pablo Aimar he idolised.[21][22] It was speculated that he failed to be signed into River Plate due to his ill health, however in a 2019 interview, Messi revealed that the club had offered to pay for his medical treatment despite ultimately rejecting him.[23] His goalscoring idol growing up was Brazilian striker Ronaldo, with Messi calling him "the best forward I've ever seen".[24]
As the Messi family had relatives in Catalonia, they sought to arrange a trial with Barcelona in September 2000. First team director Charly Rexach immediately wanted to sign him, but the board of directors hesitated; at the time it was highly unusual for European clubs to sign foreign players of such a young age. On 14 December, an ultimatum was issued for Barcelona to prove their commitment, and Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered a contract on a paper napkin.[21][25] In February 2001, the family relocated to Barcelona, where they moved into an apartment near the club's stadium, Camp Nou. During his first year in Spain, Messi rarely played with the Infantiles due to a transfer conflict with Newell's; as a foreigner, he could only be fielded in friendlies and the Catalan league. Without football, he struggled to integrate into the team; already reserved by nature, he was so quiet that his teammates initially believed he was mute. At home, he suffered from homesickness after his mother moved back to Rosario with his brothers and little sister, María Sol, while he stayed in Barcelona with his father.[18][25][26]
After a year at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, Messi was finally enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in February 2002. Now playing in all competitions, he befriended his teammates, among whom were Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué.[27] After completing his growth hormone treatment aged 14,[28] Messi became an integral part of the "Baby Dream Team", Barcelona's greatest-ever youth side. During his first full season (2002–03), he was top scorer with 36 goals in 30 games for the Cadetes A, who won an unprecedented treble of the league and both the Spanish and Catalan cups.[27][29] The Copa Catalunya final, a 4–1 victory over Espanyol, became known in club lore as the partido de la máscara, the final of the mask. A week after suffering a broken cheekbone during a league match, Messi was allowed to start the game on the condition that he wear a plastic protector; soon hindered by the mask, he took it off and scored two goals in 10 minutes before his substitution.[30] At the close of the season, he received an offer to join Arsenal, his first from a foreign club, but while Fàbregas and Piqué soon left for England, he chose to remain in Barcelona.[25][31][32]