Lionel Messi Biography

Lionel Messi, in full Lionel Andres Messi, also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who captains the Argentina National Team and plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint Germain. Messi started playing football as a boy and joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys ( a Rosario-based top-division football club) in 1995. Messi’s phenomenal skills accumulated the attention of respected clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. At the age of 13, Messi and his family migrated to Barcelona. He started playing FC Barcelona’s Under-14 team. He scored 21 goals in 14 games for the junior team and speedily graduated through the higher level teams at sixteen. 

Lionel Messi Age, Profile and Background

Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Santa Fe. He is the third of four children of Jorge Messi, a steel factory manager and his wife, Celia Cuccittini, who served in a magnet manufacturing workshop. Growing up in a close-knit, football-loving family, Leo build a passion for sports. He constantly plays with his older brothers Matias and Rodrigo and his cousins, Emanuel Biancucchi and Maximiliano, who were professional footballers.

At the age of four, he was coached by his father and joined the local club Grandoli. But his earliest influence was his maternal grandmother Celia who accompanied him to matches and training. During the six years that he had played for Newell’s, he scored 500 goals as a member of “The Machine of 87,” the near undefeatable youth side named for their birth year. His future as a professional player was frightening when he was diagnosed with a Growth Hormone Deficiency. His father’s health insurance covered only two years of Growth Hormone Treatment, costing $1,000 per month. Newell’s agreed to contribute but broke their promise. 

Messi’s Flourishing Sports Career

In the 2004-2005 season, Messi, 17, emerged as an official player and goal scorer in Spanish La Liga (the country’s highest football division). He was a versatile, strong player in the field. Naturally quick, left-footed, and precise in control of the ball, Messi was an eager pass distributor and could easily thread in his path through packed defenses. During this season, Messi was an assured starter for the B team playing 17 games all over the campaign and scoring on six occasions. Messi made his League debut during the next match on October 16, in opposition to Espanyol. Messi signed his first contract as a senior team player on June 24, which is on his birthday. It made him a Barcelona player till 2010.

Became a Dominant Player

Due to some issues in legal status in Royal Spanish Football Status, Messi missed the beginning of La Liga. Still, on September 26, he was granted Spanish citizenship and became eligible to play. Wearing the number 19 shirt, he established himself as the first-choice right winger, shaping an attacking trio with Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o, the striker. 

Messi’s game rapidly improved over the years, and by 2008 he was among the dominant players in the world, ending second to Manchester’s United Christiano Ronaldo in the voting for the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year. At the beginning of 2009, Messi capped off an eye-catching 2008-2009 season by helping FC Barcelona capture the club’s first ‘Treble’ ( winning three main titles in one season): the team won the La Liga Championship, the Champions League title and the Copa del Rey which is Spain’s major domestic cup. He scored 38 goals in 51 matches in that season. Barcelona achieved the FIFA Club World Cup opposition to Estudiantes de la Plata, with Messi scoring the winning 2-1 goal with the chest. At 22, he won the Ballon d’Or and was the FIFA World Player of the Year.

During 2009-10 Messi achieved 34 goals in domestic games as Barcelona repeated as La Liga champions. He acquires the Golden Shoe Award as the leading scorer in Europe. He was titled the 2010 World Player of the Year (the award was renamed FIFA Ballon d’Or that year. 

Turning Point gave rise to Lionel Messi

As Messi evolves into a combination of the number eight (creator), a nine that is the scorer and 10, which is assistant. He scored a miraculous 73 goals and provided 29 assists in all club competitions during the 2011-12 season. Messi produced a hat-trick or 10 on more occasions. He started the drive by helping Barcelona win the Spanish and European Super Cups.

His turning point season led to his being named the 2012 World Player of the Year, which mark Messi the first player to win this honour four times. His 46 La Liga goals in 2012-13 led the League and Barcelona to grab another domestic top-division championship that season. When he scored the 370th goal as a team member, he put the overall Barcelona goal record in 2014. That same year he also broke the record for play in the Champions League (with 72 goals) and La Liga (with 253 goals). 

Lionel Messi helped Barcelona acquire another ‘Treble’ during the 2014-15 season leading the team with scored 43 goals over the course of the campaign. That resulted in the fifth World Player of the Year award. He gained 41 goals across all the competition for Barcelona in 2015-2016, and the club won Copa del Rey and La Liga titles that season. During 2017-2018 he scored 45 goals, and Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, and La Liga double once again. 

His Proven Massive Goals

In 2019, he won his sixth career Ballon d’Or. During 2020-21, Barcelona professes the Copa Del Rey title, the seventh of Messi’s career. He was the leading goal scorer in the League’s history (474). Leo signed with Paris St Germain later in 2021. 

He was a central member of various Argentinia National Teams from 2005. Messi played on Argentina’s winning 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship squad and represented the country in the 2006 World Cup. He scored two goals in five matches. Messi helped Argentina to reach the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals, where Germany terminated the team for the second consecutive time in World Cup play. Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the Best Player in the tournament. He netted his 55th International goal in 2016 in Copa America Centenario tournament. 

Achievements of Lionel Messi

Barcelona

• La Liga- 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19
• Copa del Rey- 2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-2018, 2020-21
• Super Copa de España- 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018. 
• UEFA Champions League- 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2014-15
• UEFA Super Cup- 2009, 2011, 2015. 
• FIFA Club World Cup- 2009, 2011, 2015.

Paris Saint Germain

• Ligue 1: 2021-22
• Tropee des Champions: 2022

Argentina U20

• FIFA World Youth Championship: 2005

Argentina U23

• Summer Olympics: 2008

Individual

• Ballon d Or/FIFA Ballon d’Or- 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021
• FIFA World Player of the Year- 2009
• The Best FIFA Men’s Player: 2019
• European Golden Shoe- 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19
• FIFA World Cup Golden Ball- 2014
• Fifa Club World Cup Golden Ball- 2009, 2011
• Laureus World Sportsmen of the Year- 2020
• La Liga Best Player- 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15
• Pichichi Trophy- 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21
• Argentine Footballer of the Year- 2995, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021

Argentina 

• Copa America: 2021; runner up : 2007, 2015, 2016
• FIFA World Cup runner up: 2014
• Conmebol- UEFA Cup of Champions- 2022

Lionel Messi Personal Life

Messi had a romantic association before he got stable with his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo. He was first connected with Macarena Lemos, a female from his hometown, Rosario. Also, he is even said to have love with Luciana Salazar, an Argentinian glamour model.

A fella native of Rosario gave birth to their first child, Thiago, on November 2, 2012, and their second child Mateo on September 11, 2015. After several years of relationship, they married on June 30, 2017. They have their third child named Ciro born on 2018. 

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