Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Major League Soccer club, Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest football player in the history of the game. He won a record of eight Ballon d’Or awards, a record of six  European Golden Shoes, and was named by world’s best player for a record of eight times by FIFA. Messi is the most decorated player in the History of football with 44 trophies. He spent most of his time in Barcelona where he won a total of 34 trophies, including 10 Laliga titles, 7 Copa del Rey titles and 4 Champions league. He is gaolscorer and creative playmaker. Messi holds the records for most goals (474), hat-tricks (36), and assists (192) in La Liga, most appearances (39) and assists (18) in the Copa América. He scored over 800 senior goals for club and country.

An Argentine international, Messi is the country’s all-time leading goal scorer and holds the national record for appearances. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona, who described Messi as his successor.

Early Life

Lionel Andrés Messi, commonly known as Lionel Messi, was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. He is the third of four children of Jorge Messi, a steel factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. He started his career at Newell’s Old Boys, where he scored almost 500 goals.

At the age of 10, Lionel Messi’s future as a professional player was jeopardized when he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. The cost of the therapy was substantial, about $1,000 per month, and his father’s health insurance only covered two years of treatment. Initially, Newell’s Old Boys, his club at the time, agreed to help but later backed out of their promise. Messi was scouted by River Plate, a Buenos Aires club, and idolized their playmaker Pablo Aimar. Despite speculation that his health issues prevented his signing, Messi later revealed in a 2019 interview that River Plate had offered to cover his medical expenses, even though they ultimately did not sign him. Growing up, his goalscoring idol was Brazilian striker Ronaldo, whom Messi described as “the best forward I’ve ever seen.”

As messi family had a relative in Catalonia, they tried to have a deal with Barcelona in september 2000. Although European clubs is unusual to buy a foreign player, Barcelona had a deal with Messi’s  father and Messi and His Father relocated to spain and they lived a house near to the stadium, Camp Nou.

After completing his growth hormone therapy aged 14, Messi became an integral part of the “Baby Dream Team”, Barcelona’s greatest-ever youth side. During his first full season (2002–03), he was top scorer with 36 goals in 30 games for the Cadets A, who won an unprecedented treble of the league and both the Spanish and Catalan cups. The Copa Catalunya final, a 4–1 victory over Espanyol, became known in club lore as the partido de la máscara, the final of the mask. A week after suffering a broken cheekbone during a league match, Messi was allowed to start the game on the condition that he wear a plastic protector; soon hindered by the mask, he took it off and scored two goals in 10 minutes before his substitution. At the close of the season, he received an offer to join Arsenal, his first from a foreign club, but while Fàbregas and Piqué soon left for England, he chose to remain in Barcelona.

Career

Club Career

FC Barcelona (2000-2021)

At the age of 16 years, four months, and 23 days old, Messi made his first-team debut as a 75th-minute substitute during a friendly against Porto on 16 November 2003, Under Frank Rijkaard, who promoted him to the first team in October 2004. He made his league debuet against Espanyol  on 16 october, 2004. He scored his first goal against Albacete on 1^st may 2005, assisted by Ronaldinho. On 10 March 2007, Messi scored his first hat-trick in a Clásico, the first player to do so in 12 years, equalising after each goal by Real Madrid to end the match in a 3–3 draw in injury time.

During his first season under Barcelona’s new manager, Pep Guardiola, Messi played as a false nine for the first time on 2 May 2009 in a Clásico. He scored twice and assisted once in a 6–2 victory, the team’s greatest-ever score at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. He played his first final on 19 May, winning the Copa del Rey. Barcelona became the first club to achieve the sextuple. In addition to the Copa del Rey, Barcelona won the La Liga title and later won the Champions League, Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in the second half of 2009. Messi finished as the Champions League top scorer, the youngest in the tournament’s history, For his efforts in 2009, Messi won the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award. In the new year of the 2009–10 season, Messi scored a total of 47 goals in all competitions, equaling Ronaldo’s club record from the 1996–97 campaign. He finished the season as top scorer in the Champions League, and La Liga, winning his second consecutive league trophy and earned his first European Golden Shoe. In the 2010–11 campaign, Messi won the Supercopa de España, Champions League, and a third consecutive La Liga title. Messi was the top scorer in the Champions League, for the third consecutive year, and the league’s top scorer and assist provider. He became Barcelona’s all-time single-season top scorer with 53 goals.

During the 2011–12 season, Messi scored 73 goals and provided 29 assists in all club competitions. He began the campaign winning both the Spanish and European Super Cups trophies. At the close of the year, he won the FIFA Club World Cup and earned the Golden Ball for a second time. For his efforts in 2011, he received the FIFA Ballond’Or, becoming only the fourth player in history to win the Ballon d’Or three times, and the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. During the year 2012, Messi became the second player to be top scorer in four Champions League campaigns. On 20 March, Messi became the top goal scorer in Barcelona’s history at 24 years old with a hat-trick against Granada. He finished the season as league top scorer in Spain and Europe for a second time, with 50 goals, a La Liga record, while his 73 goals in all competitions made him the single-season top scorer in the history of European club football. A double scored on 9 December against Real Betis saw Messi becoming Barcelona’s all-time top scorer in La Liga, and surpassed Gerd Müller’s record of most goals scored in a calendar year. At the close of the year, Messi had scored a record 91 goals in all competitions for Barcelona and Argentina. Messi again won the FIFA Ballond’Or, becoming the only player in history to win the Ballond’Or four  times.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) (2021-2023)

On 10 August, Messi joined French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), on a two-year deal until June 2023 with an option for an extra year. He scored key goals and provided assists, helping the team in domestic and international competitions. Messi contributed to PSG’s dominance in Ligue 1 and helped the team reach advanced stages in the UEFA Champions League. On 28 May, he scored in a 1–1 draw against Strasbourg, helping PSG clinch their 11th Ligue 1 title and his second in a row. At the end of the season, he departed for Inter Miami.

Inter Miami CF (2023-Present)

On 15 July 2023, Inter Miami announced the signing of Messi on a two-and-a-half-year contract. His base salary was $12 million with guaranteed compensation totaling $20.4 million for the 2023 season; with additional shares from jersey sales, MLS Season Pass subscriptions, and a stake in the club.

 His arrival in the United States brought significant attention to MLS, increasing the league’s global visibility and popularity. Messi continued to perform at a high level, scoring goals and assisting his teammates, while also taking on a mentorship role for younger players. Off the pitch, Messi’s presence has helped boost the club’s profile and fanbase.

International Career

Despite his dual citizenship and professional success in Spain, Messi has maintained strong ties with Argentina and has been a crucial member of the national team since 2005. He was part of Argentina’s victorious 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship team and played in the 2006 World Cup. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Messi scored two goals in five matches, leading Argentina to win the gold medal. He helped Argentina reach the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, where they were once again eliminated by Germany.

In the 2014 World Cup, Messi was instrumental, scoring four goals and almost single-handedly driving an offense-deficient Argentina team through the group stage and into the knockout rounds, eventually reaching the World Cup final for the first time in 24 years. Although Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany, Messi won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player. During the 2016 Copa América Centenario, Messi became Argentina’s all-time top scorer, surpassing Gabriel Batistuta’s record with his 55th international goal.

Following Argentina’s third consecutive finals loss in a major tournament during the 2016 Copa América, Messi announced his retirement from the national team, a decision that lasted less than two months before he returned. In the 2018 World Cup, he helped Argentina reach the knockout stage, where they were eliminated by eventual champions France. After securing a third-place finish at the 2019 Copa América, Messi led Argentina to victory in the tournament two years later, earning the Golden Ball award for his performance.

His success continued in the 2022 World Cup, where he scored twice in the final and made a crucial penalty in the shootout to help Argentina defeat France. Messi won the World Cup’s Golden Ball, becoming the first male player to win it twice, and his exceptional play throughout the tournament earned him his eighth Ballon d’Or in 2023.