Lionel Messi
Born on 24 June 1987, Lionel Andrés Messi, Leo Messi is a forward for the Argentina national team and Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Messi was a member of the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020. He has won seven Ballon d’Or awards, six European Golden Shoes, and numerous other honors. He spent the entirety of his career with Barcelona, where he amassed a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey championships, and four UEFA Champions Leagues. In 2021 and 2022, his nation won the Copa América and FIFA World Cups, respectively. The UEFA Champions League, most hat-tricks (36), most assists (192), and Copa America (17) are among the records that Messi owns in La Liga—a male South American who has scored 103 goals abroad. Messi has the most goals scored by a single club, with over 800 senior career goals for club and country.
In October 2004, Messi moved to Barcelona at the age of 17, having left Argentina at the age of 13. In 2008-09, when Messi was 22 years old and playing for Barcelona, they won their first treble in Spanish football. That year, Messi earned his first Ballon d’Or. He became the first player to win it four times in three straight seasons. His best season was 2011–12, when he broke scoring records in La Liga and Europe. Messi led Barcelona to a historic second triple in 2014–15, rediscovered his best form, and defeated Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d’Or. La Liga also named him its all-time leading scorer. In 2015, he also took home the fifth Ballon d’Or. 2018 saw Messi win a record-setting sixth Ballon d’Or while serving as captain. He joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, where he won Ligue 1 twice in two seasons.
Lionel Messi Career:
Messi played for four youth teams in his fourth season with Barcelona. After one official encounter with Juvenile B, he was promoted to Juvenile A and scored 18 goals in 11 league games. Messi joined the first team to bolster a depleted roster. Giuly said Messi caught his eye when training with Frank Rijkaard’s first team: “He devastated us all… Even the starting center-backs were apprehensive, yet he dribbled past four men and scored. He was foreign.”
Messi signed his first contract on his 18th birthday, June 24. The new contract reduced his tenure by two years but increased his buyout clause to €150 million. His breakthrough came on August 24 at Barcelona’s Joan Gamper Trophy preseason event. He began his first match against Fabio Capello’s Juventus, drawing applause. Juventus was to loan Messi, but Inter Milan proposed a €150 million buyout clause and a tripled salary for Messi. Former club president Joan Laporta said Messi only stayed then. For the second time in three months, his contract was extended to 2014.
Messi played the Argentine and Spanish national teams. Barcelona’s director of football, Carles Rexach, informed the Spanish Football Federation of their young player’s potential in 2003. Longtime Albiceleste supporter Messi declined the offer. In June 2004, the Argentine Football Association held two under-20 friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay to keep Spain from taking him. He made his debut against Paraguay on June 29, five days after his 17th birthday, scoring once and contributing two assists. He joined the South American Youth Championship in February 2005. His growth hormone insufficiency forced him to play six of nine games as a substitute. He scored a 2–1 goal against Brazil in the final match to qualify for the FIFA World Youth Championship third place.
Lionel Messi Family Background:
Messi, a steel manufacturing manager, was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, on June 24, 1987, to Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini. He is Italian and Spanish on his father’s side and Italian on his mother’s. Playing football with his brothers and cousins, “Leo” grew up loving the sport in a close-knit family. His maternal grandmother, Celia, took him to training and matches when he was four, influencing him as a player. Since her death just before his eleventh birthday, he has celebrated his goals by pointing to the sky in memory. Messi joined Rosario as a six-year-old and has supported them forever. He scored around 500 goals for Newell’s near-unbeatable 87 youth squad and amused fans with halftime ball wizardry. He had a growth hormone deficit at 10 that threatened his career. Newell promised to donate but reneged after his father’s insurance only covered two years of growth hormone therapy. Argentine club River Plate scouted him but declined to pay for therapy. Messi proclaimed Ronaldo “the best forward I have ever seen” as a kid.
The Messi family requested a trial with Barcelona in September 2000 since they have relatives in Catalonia. Charly Rexach instantly wanted to sign him because European clubs rarely signed young foreign players. On December 14, Barcelona was given an ultimatum to prove their commitment. Rexach provided a napkin contract. Their February 2001 flat was near Camp Nou, the club’s stadium. Messi played only with friends and in the Catalan league in his first year in Spain as a foreigner. He was always reticent and so quiet at first that his teammates feared he was mute without football. He was homesick after his mother returned to Rosario with his brothers and sister, Mara Sol. Messi joined RFEF in February 2002 following a year at La Masia.
Lionel Messi Net Worth:
Argentine professional athlete Lionel Messi is worth $600 million. Lionel Messi is consider the best soccer player in the world and history—one of, if not the highest-paid players ever.
Lionel Messi made most of his money as an FC Barcelona striker and winger. From teenagehood till 2021, he played for Barcelona. In 778 games with Barcelona, Lionel scored 672 goals. Lionel joined PSG from Barcelona on August 10, 2021. The Argentina national team features him. Lionel won the World Cup with Argentina on December 18, 2022.
Lionel Messi may be the world’s highest-paid soccer player and athlete. Messi’s record-breaking 2017 Barcelona contract paid him $168 million annually.
