Argentine professional footballer Lionel Andrés Messi, 35, was born on June 24, 1987. He currently plays for the French team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
He goes by the name Leo Messi and is frequently cited as one of the best players in the world.
He leads the Argentina National Team as its captain. He played for Barcelona FC in La Liga for the majority of his professional career.
In 2021, he recently left the club. He currently holds the record for both the Ballon d’Or and the European Golden Shoes with six each.
While he was at Barcelona, he helped the club win 35 trophies, including 10 La Liga trophies, 7 Copa del Rey titles and 4 UEFA Champions League.
Lionel Messi has scored over 750 senior career goals for club and country, is credited for holding the record of most goals by a player for a single club.
Career
Lionel Messi spent a year at Barcelona’s Youth Academy, La Masia, before enrolling in the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). This happened in February 2002. Thus, he was thirteen when he joined Barcelona.
However, he debuted for the Barcelona first team at the age of seventeen on the 14th Of October 2004. Within three years, he had grown into a formidable player of the club and was regarded as one of its best players. In the 2008-2009 season, he helped the club to win three trophies. At the young age of 22, he won his first Ballon d’Or. The next three seasons were also successful for Lionel Messi, who has won three more Ballon d’Or. Thus, he set the record of being the first player to win four Ballon d’Ors and do it in a row.
He set the La Liga and European record of most goals scored in a single season during the 2011-2012 season. He has also achieved the honour of being Barcelona’s highest top scorer. After a two-year hiatus where lost the Ballon d’Or to rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi won the award for the fifth time in 2015. At the end of 2014-2015, he had set the record of all-time goalscorer in the La Liga league. He replicated the feat in Barcelona too. He became the club’s captain in 2018, and the following year he won his sixth Ballon d’Or.
Over the years, Lionel Messi has grown into Argentina’s most valuable player. He holds the record of highest appearance-maker and all-time leading goalscorer for the team. In 2005, he played an active role in helping the youth team of Argentina to win the FIFA World Youth Championship.
At the end of the tournament, he was awarded the Golden Shoe and Golden Ball. In addition, he won a Gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China.
In 2011, Lionel Messi was made the captain of the Argentina senior team and had led the team to three consecutive finals: the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2015 & 2016 Copa América. He won the Golden Ball at the 2015 tournament.
He initially wanted to retire from international games in 2016 but reversed his decision and helped his country secure qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He also helped the team win bronze at the 2019 Copa América and gold at the 2021 Copa América. He went home with the Golden Ball and Golden Boot prizes at the end of the tournament.
Since 2006, Lionel Messi has been a brand ambassador for the sportswear company, Adidas. He also has a long-term endorsement deal with Dolce & Gabanna, Audemars Piguet, Pepsi, Konami and Gilette. He held the title of the highest-paid footballer for five years between 2009-2013. In 2020, he was named to the Ballon d’Or Dream Team.
Lionel Messi moved to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2021 after Barcelona was unable to pay his fees. During his time in La Liga, he scored 474 goals. He also holds the record of most hat-tricks in La Liga (36).
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