Open main menu

Edit this pageWatch this pageRead in another language

Lionel Messi
"Messi" redirects here. For the biopic, seeMessi (film).
Lionel Messi
Messi withBarcelonaduring theUEFA Super Cupin August 2015
Personal informationFull nameLionel Andrs Messi[note 1]Date of birth24 June 1987(a
ge29)Place of birthRosario, ArgentinaHeight1.70m (5ft 7in)[1]Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
BarcelonaNumber10Youth career19942000Newell's Old Boys20012004BarcelonaSenior care
er*YearsTeamApps(Gls)20032004Barcelona C10(5)20042005Barcelona B22(6)2004Barcelona3
56(319)National team20042005Argentina U2018(14)2008Argentina U235(2)2005Argentina11
4(56)
Honours
Representing ArgentinaSouth American U-20 Championship 2005 ColombiaFIFA U-20 World Cu
pWinner2005 NetherlandsCopa AmricaRunner-up2007 VenezuelaRunner-up2015 ChileRunne
r-up2016 United StatesOlympic Games 2008 BeijingFIFA World CupRunner-up2014 Brazil
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and cor
rect as of 29 October 2016.
National team caps and goals correct as of 1 September 2016

Lionel Andrs"Leo"Messi(Spanish pronunciation:[ljonel andes mesi]; born 24 June 1987)

n Argentine professionalfootballerwho plays as aforwardfor Spanish clubFC Barcelonaand
theArgentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and ra
ted by many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only football
player in history to win fiveFIFA Ballons d'Or, four of which he won consecutive
ly, and the first player to win threeEuropean Golden Shoes.[note 2]With Barcelona
he has won eightLa Ligatitles and fourUEFA Champions Leaguetitles, as well as fourCop
as del Rey. Both a prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the
records formost goals scored in La Liga,a La Liga season (50), a football season
(82), and a calendar year (91), as well as those for most assists made in La Lig
a and theCopa Amrica. He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and coun
try.
Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with agrowth hormone de
ficiencyas a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agree
d to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelona's
youth academy, Messi made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. Despit
e being injury-prone during his early career, he established himself as an integ
ral player for the club within the next three years, finishing 2007 as a finalis
t for both theBallon d'OrandFIFA World Player of the Yearaward, a feat he repeated t
he following year. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 200809 season, du
ring which he helped Barcelona achieve the firsttreblein Spanish football. At 22 y
ears old, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by r
ecord voting margins.
Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Bal

lons d'Or, including an unprecedented fourth. His personal best campaign to date
was the 201112 season, in which he set the La Liga and European records for most
goals scored in a single season, while establishing himself asBarcelona's all-ti
me top scorerin official competitions in March 2012. He again struggled with inju
ry during the following two seasons, twice finishing second for the Ballon d'Or
behindCristiano Ronaldo, his perceivedcareer rival. Messi regained his best form d
uring the 201415 campaign, breaking the all-time goalscoring records in both La L
iga and theChampions Leaguein November 2014, and led Barcelona to a historic secon
d treble. He is currently the second highest goalscorer in the history of the Eu
ropean Cup/Champions League.
An Argentine international, Messi is his country'sall-time leading goalscorer. At
youth level, he won the2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, finishing the tournam
ent with both theGolden Ball and Golden Shoe, and anOlympic gold medalat the2008 Sum
mer Olympics. His style of play as a diminutive, left-footeddribblerdrew compariso
ns with compatriotDiego Maradona, who declared the teenager hissuccessor. After ma
king his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to pla
y and score in aFIFA World Cupduring the2006 edition, and reached the final of the20
07 Copa Amrica, where he was named young player of the tournament. As the squad'sc
aptainfrom August 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals of the2014 Wo
rld Cup, for which he won theGolden Ball, and the2015and2016 Copas Amrica. He was co
nvicted of tax fraud committed from 2007 to 2009, for which he received a fine a
nd a suspended prison sentence.
Early life
Barcelona
Argentina national team
Player profile
In popular culture
Personal life
Career statistics
Honours and achievements
See also
References
External links
Last edited 23 hours agobyJaellee

Content is available underCC BY-SA 3.0unless otherwise noted.

Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop