Lionel Messi Profile, Age, Height, Family, Affairs, Wiki, Biography & More

Lionel Andrés Messi, also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentine national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, a record six European Golden Boots and, in 2020, was named in the Ballon d’Or. ‘Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career at Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions League titles. UEFA champions.

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi moved to Spain aged 13 to join Barcelona, for whom he made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. established himself as a full player at the club for the next three years, and in his first uninterrupted season in 2008–09 helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football; that year, at 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 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 runners-up in the Ballon d’Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, before returning to his best form in the 2014-15 campaign, becoming La Liga’s all-time top scorer and leading Barcelona to a historic second treble., after which he was awarded a fifth Ballon d’Or in 2015. Messi assumed the captaincy of Barcelona in 2018, and in 2019 he won a record sixth Ballon d’Or. At the end of the contract, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021.

An Argentine international, Messi holds the national record for appearances and is also the country’s all-time top scorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, finishing the tournament with the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His style of play as a small left-footed dribbler has drawn comparisons with fellow countryman Diego Maradona, who has described Messi as his successor. After his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score at a FIFA World Cup in 2006, and reached the 2007 Copa América final, where he was named Young Player of the Tournament.

As team captain from August 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, and the 2015 Copa América and 2016, winning the Ballon d’Or in the 2015 edition. 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 at the 2019 Copa América, and won the 2021 Copa América, while winning the Ballon d’Or and Ballon d’Or. Boot Award for the latter. This achievement would allow him to receive a record seventh Ballon d’Or in 2021.

Messi has supported sportswear company Adidas since 2006. According to France Football, he was the highest paid footballer in the world for five out of six years between 2009 and 2014, and was ranked the highest paid athlete in the world by Forbes in 2019 and 2022. Messi was listed among Time’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2011 and 2012. In February 2020, he was awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, becoming the first ever footballer and team sport athlete to win this award. Later that year, Messi became the second footballer and second team sport athlete to exceed $1 billion in career earnings.

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