How old was messi: How old is Lionel Messi? Argentina and PSG star age, career, trophies as he finally wins World Cup

How old is Lionel Messi? Argentina and PSG star age, career, trophies as he finally wins World Cup

When you think of football superstars, Lionel Messi is likely the first name that comes to mind.

The Argentine legend has been dominating the sport for 18 years now at both domestic and international level, and has won almost every trophy imaginable in a remarkable career of longevity.

Even as he gets a year older, Messi is still excelling for PSG and Argentina as he continues to build his legacy, and the 2022 World Cup was no exception as his seven goals led his country to glory in Qatar.

MORE: Everything to know about Lionel Messi: Trophies, contract, salary, net worth, wife and family of Argentina star

How old is Lionel Messi?

Lionel Messi is 35 years old after celebrating his latest birthday on June 24, 2022.

Despite his advancing years, Messi is still the star of the show for both his club side PSG and national team Argentina.

He scored 11 goals and 14 assists across all competitions for the Parisian side during the 2021/22 season, while he also helped Argentina to World Cup qualification, assisted twice in the Finalissima victory against Italy and scored all five goals in a friendly rout of Estonia.

He went on to deliver some of his best performances in an Argentina shirt at the 2022 World Cup in December, which ended with the attacker scoring twice, as well as in the final shootout against France, as his country lifted the trophy for the third time in its history.

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Lionel Messi’s career at Barcelona, Argentina and PSG

Lionel Messi began his career at the academy of Newell’s Old Boys before moving across to Barcelona’s famous La Masia at the age of 13.

At 16 years, four months and 23 days, Messi made his debut for the Barcelona senior team during a friendly against Jose Mourinho’s Porto in November 2003.

His senior professional debut came at 17 years, three months and 22 days old as an 82nd minute substitute in a La Liga match against Espanyol in October 2004 – becoming the youngest player, at the time, to ever represent Barcelona in official competition.

Messi went on to score 672 goals in 778 appearances for the Catalans from 2004 until 2021.

With Barcelona, he won four Champions Leagues, 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Reys, seven Supercopa de Espanas, three UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.

At the end of the the 2021 season, Messi moved on a free transfer to PSG, where he won the Ligue 1 title with the Paris giants in his first campaign at the club.

For his national team Argentina, he won the Copa America in 2021, a runner-up at the 2014 World Cup, while he lifted the Finalissima trophy recently after victory against Italy. Messi finally got his hands on the biggest trophy of them all on December 18 though as he guided his team to glory in Qatar in the World Cup final, beating France on penalties.

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How many Ballon d’Ors has Lionel Messi won?

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or – football’s most recognised individual award – on seven occasions throughout his career.

He has lifted the trophy the most times in history, with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo winning the honour five times.

Messi last won it in 2021, while he also clinched it in 2019, with the 2020 version not held because of COVID-19. Karim Benzema won the 2022 edition.

He also won the Ballon d’Or in 2015, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Lionel Messi | Biography, Barcelona, PSG, & Facts

Lionel Messi

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Born:: June 24, 1987 (age 35)
Rosario
Argentina

Awards And Honors:: Olympic Games

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Early life

Messi started playing football as a boy and in 1995 joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys (a Rosario-based top-division football club). Messi’s phenomenal skills garnered the attention of prestigious clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. At age 13 Messi and his family relocated to Barcelona, and he began playing for FC Barcelona’s under-14 team. He scored 21 goals in 14 games for the junior team, and he quickly graduated through the higher-level teams until at age 16 he was given his informal debut with FC Barcelona in a friendly match.

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Club play

In the 2004–05 season Messi, then 17, became the youngest official player and goal scorer in the Spanish La Liga (the country’s highest division of football). Though only 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 metres) tall and weighing 148 pounds (67 kg), he was strong, well-balanced, and versatile on the field. Naturally left-footed, quick, and precise in control of the ball, Messi was a keen pass distributor and could readily thread his way through packed defenses. In 2005 he was granted Spanish citizenship, an honour greeted with mixed feelings by the fiercely Catalan supporters of Barcelona. The next year Messi and Barcelona won the Champions League (the European club championship) title.

Messi’s play continued to rapidly improve over the years, and by 2008 he was one of the most dominant players in the world, finishing second to Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo in the voting for the 2008 Ballon d’Or. In early 2009 Messi capped off a spectacular 2008–09 season by helping FC Barcelona capture the club’s first “treble” (winning three major European club titles in one season): the team won the La Liga championship, the Copa del Rey (Spain’s major domestic cup), and the Champions League title. He scored 38 goals in 51 matches during that season, and he bested Ronaldo in the balloting for both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s world player of the year by a record margin. During the 2009–10 season Messi scored 34 goals in domestic games as Barcelona repeated as La Liga champions. He earned the Golden Shoe award as Europe’s leading scorer, and he received another Ballon d’Or (the award was known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2010–15).

Messi led Barcelona to La Liga and Champions League titles the following season, which helped him capture an unprecedented third consecutive world player of the year award. In March 2012 he netted his 233rd goal for Barcelona, becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer in La Liga play when only 24 years old. He finished Barcelona’s 2011–12 season (which included another Copa del Rey win) with 73 goals in all competitions, breaking Gerd Müller’s 39-year-old record for single-season goals in a major European football league. His landmark season led to his being named the 2012 world player of the year, which made Messi the first player to win the honour four times. His 46 La Liga goals in 2012–13 led the league, and Barcelona captured another domestic top-division championship that season. In 2014 he set the overall Barcelona goal record when he scored his 370th goal as a member of the team. That same year he also broke the career scoring records for play in both the Champions League (with 72 goals) and La Liga (with 253 goals).

Messi helped Barcelona capture another treble during the 2014–15 season, leading the team with 43 goals scored over the course of the campaign, which resulted in his fifth world player of the year honour. He scored 41 goals across all competitions for Barcelona in 2015–16, and the club won the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey during that season. Messi topped that with 53 goals for Barcelona in 2016–17, leading the team to another Copa del Rey title. In 2017–18 he scored 45 goals, and Barcelona won the La Liga–Copa del Rey double once again. Messi scored 51 goals across all domestic competitions in 2018–19 as Barcelona won another La Liga championship. In late 2019 he won his sixth career Ballon d’Or and was named FIFA’s best male player of the year. In the 2020–21 season, Barcelona claimed the Copa del Rey title, the seventh of Messi’s career. He became a free agent in 2021, and financial issues—some of which were the result of La Liga rules—largely prevented him from re-signing with Barcelona. He left the club having set a number of records; notably, he was the leading goal scorer in the league’s history (474). Later in 2021 Messi signed with Paris St.-Germain, where he joined superstars Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, and that year he also received another Ballon d’Or.

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International career

Despite his dual citizenship and professional success in Spain, Messi’s ties with his homeland remained strong, and he was a key member of various Argentine national teams from 2005. He played on Argentina’s victorious 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship squad, represented the country in the 2006 World Cup, and scored two goals in five matches as Argentina swept to the gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Messi helped Argentina reach the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals, where the team was eliminated by Germany for the second consecutive time in World Cup play. At the 2014 World Cup, Messi put on a dazzling display, scoring four goals and almost single-handedly propelling an offense-deficient Argentina team through the group stage and into the knockout rounds, where Argentina then advanced to the World Cup final for the first time in 24 years. Argentina lost that contest 1–0 to Germany, but Messi nevertheless won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player. During the 2016 Copa América Centenario tournament, he netted his 55th international goal to break Gabriel Batistuta’s Argentine scoring record.

After Argentina was defeated in the Copa final—the team’s third consecutive finals loss in a major tournament—Messi said that he was quitting the national team, but his short-lived “retirement” lasted less than two months before he announced his return to the Argentine team. At the 2018 World Cup, he helped an overmatched Argentine side reach the knockout stage, where they were eliminated by eventual champion France in their first match. After a third-place finish at the 2019 Copa América, Messi led Argentina to victory in the tournament two years later, and he received the Golden Ball award. His success continued at the 2022 World Cup. There he guided Argentina to the finals, where he scored two goals—and made a penalty kick during the shootout—to help defeat France. Messi won the World Cup’s Golden Ball, becoming the first male player to receive that award twice.

Other activities and legal issues

Off the field, Messi was one of the biggest athletic stars in the world. In addition to earning a football salary that was frequently, with Ronaldo’s, one of the two largest athletes’ salaries in all professional sports, he was an extremely successful product pitchman, notably for the sportswear company Adidas. In 2013 Messi and his father (who handled his son’s finances) were charged with tax fraud and accused of using overseas shell companies to avoid paying €4.2 million in Spanish taxes on endorsement earnings. Despite subsequently paying €5 million to the Spanish state, the pair were nevertheless ordered to stand trial on the charges in 2016. In July of that year, Messi and his father were each given suspended 21-month prison sentences (first-time offenders in Spain are given suspended sentences if the duration is under two years) and were fined €2 million and €1.5 million, respectively.

Jack RollinThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Lionel Messi – biography, photo, height, wife, children, age, leaving Barcelona 2023

Biography of Lionel Messi

Every “football generation” has its heroes: Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, and now Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, playing for Barcelona at number 10.

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi

How did a boy from a poor family with a congenital ailment that required expensive treatment overcome all the difficulties on the way to the five-time title of the best football player in the world? Read more about Leo Messi’s path to success in our material.

Childhood and family

Lionel Andres Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. Messi’s ancestors, originally from the Italian city of Ancona, emigrated to Argentina in 1883. Messi’s father, Jorge Horacio Messi, was a steelworker, and his mother, Celia Maria Messi, worked as a cleaner. The family was large: Lionel has older brothers Matias and Rodrigo and sister Maria.

Future Champion

Lionel started playing football at the age of 5. His father worked as a coach at the local Grandoli football club, but for the first time Lionel was brought to classes by his grandmother, the only family member who believed in his success in the football field. Many years have passed, Messi has become the greatest footballer, and until now, after each goal scored, he raises his hands in honor of his grandmother, who left this world when he was 10 years old.

Team where Messi started playing football (2nd from the right in the top row)

At the age of 8, Lionel began playing for the Newell’s Old Boys professional football club and soon became the team captain. In 1997, Leo, together with the club, won the Friendship Cup of Peru. In one of the NOB matches, he was noticed by the scouts of FC River Plate, and the young footballer began to play for two clubs at the same time.
The terrible news shattered the boy’s dreams of a football career. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a deficiency of somatotropin, a growth hormone. The annual treatment would cost 11 thousand dollars, which neither the management of River Plate, nor, especially, Messi’s parents, could afford.

Lionel Messi as a child

Leo’s father realized that the only chance was to take his son to the shows in Barcelona (previously the club showed interest in a gifted athlete). Football agent Horacio Gagioli came to the rescue, who took the boy to Spain. Horacio himself recalled that when he first saw Lionel, he did not believe in his success: “He was too skinny and small, but when I saw him in training at Barcelona, I changed my mind. I realized that he would grow up to be a great player.”

On October 3, 2000, Barcelona sporting director Carles Rexach saw little Messi in action and immediately offered him a contract. There was no paper at hand, and Carles sketched out the text of the agreement on a napkin.

Messi’s first contract with Barcelona

The club paid for Lionel’s treatment and moved his family to Spain. Messi joined the Barcelona youth team and began training at the La Masia football academy. At that time, Juventus coach Fabio Capello offered Barcelona to buy Messi for a profitable amount, but he was refused.

Messi’s height is 169 centimeters, but if he had not managed to get to Barcelona and receive the necessary injections, according to doctors’ forecasts, he would hardly have overcome the 140-centimeter bar.

Football career

Messi’s debut in the main team of Barcelona took place on November 17, 2003. It was a friendly match against Porto. Then the authoritative Spanish newspaper “El Mundo” spoke about his game like this: “The boy has Maradona’s leg, Cruyff’s speed and Ronaldinho’s pass.”

Young Messi: Barcelona debut

The first official match for Messi was Barcelona – Espanyol (October 16, 2004). In the Spanish Championship, 17-year-old Lionel, who came on as a substitute, scored his first goal in the “adult” team of FC Albacete. In September 2005, he received Spanish citizenship.

In the Champions League, he made his debut on December 7 of the same year. The match with the Ukrainian “Shakhtar” was lost in favor of the Ukrainians 0:2. He scored his first goal in the Champions League in a match against FC Panathinaikos (November 2, 2005). In the final match of the League, he could not take part due to injury. In December of the same year, he was awarded the Golden Boy title as the best young player under 21.

Messi’s goals that shocked the world

In 2005, Messi made his debut for the Argentina national team. He will never forget this match against Hungary: after 47 seconds he received a red card, ran into the dressing room and burst into tears.

Messi’s first match for Argentina was unsuccessful

At the 2006 Spanish Championship, Lionel, with the help of his famous hat-trick, finished the match 3:3 and received 3rd place in the Golden Ball nomination and 2nd place in the FIFA Diamond Ball nomination, beating Cristiano Ronaldo.

The matches of the 2007/08 season were unsuccessful for Barcelona, Messi’s numerous injuries did not allow him to play at full strength, and the team took 3rd place, but still got into the 1/2 finals of the Champions League. In the same year, Leo participated in the Beijing Olympics as part of the Argentina national team. For a long time, Barcelona football club did not want to let go of its top scorer, and only after talking with head coach Guardiola did the club agree to let Messi go. Argentina took first place.

Olympic champions

The beginning of the 2008/09 season was marked for Lionel by a number change: after the departure of Ronaldinho, Messi changed his number 19 to his “top ten”. Lionel also won the Golden Ball as the best player in Europe.

At Barcelona, Messi wears number 10

At the beginning of the 2009/10 season, he signed a new contract with Barcelona, which was valid until 2016 with a release clause of 250 million euros. The start of the season was successful: the team won the UEFA Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup. December 21, 2009Messi received the title of the best player in the world. And in the same year, the team, with the help of top scorer Lionel, won 6 titles.

UEFA Best Player

January 16, 2010 in the match “Barcelona” – “Sevilla” Messi scored his 100th goal. At such an early age – 22 years – no one has ever been able to achieve such high results. On April 6, at the match of the 1/4 finals of the Champions League, Leo, who scored 4 goals, was recognized as the top scorer.

At the World Cup, Messi played for Argentina against Nigeria, the match ended 1-0 in favor of the Argentines. Lionel had many opportunities to score a goal, but Nigerian goalkeeper Vincente Enyeama saved the team time after time.

Barcelona’s most successful player

At the match with Greece, Messi entered the field as the youngest captain in the history of the Argentina national team, the match ended in favor of the Argentines 2:0. Leo played well, was recognized as the best player, but did not earn points according to the “goal + pass” system, and following the results of the group stage, Messi was recognized as a “useless” player for the team, because he did not convert a large number of successful moments in the game, plus showed no goals and assists.

Leo Messi Golden Boot

In the 1/4 finals, the Argentina national team lost to the German national team 4-0, but, despite the defeat, Messi was still nominated for the FIFA Golden Ball.

In 2011, the match Barcelona – Sevilla ended with a score of 1:3. To get the cup, the team needed to score two goals per match, but they coped with this, receiving the trophy for the 9th time, thanks in large part to Messi’s famous hat-trick. In the fourth round of the League against Copenhagen, a goal scored by Leo made the scorer Barcelona’s new record holder in the history of the Eurocup.

On January 10, 2011, Messi won the Ballon d’Or as the best player in the world and became the fifth player in history to win the most prestigious award in world football for 2 years in a row.

On May 28, 2011, Barcelona won the Champions League and Messi was once again named Man of the Match.

In the new 2011/12 season, Barça won the Spanish Super Cup, the match took place in Madrid against well-known rivals Real Madrid, but ended in a 2-2 draw. In the second leg, the Catalans won 3-2 thanks to a goal scored by Messi. It was his 200th professional league goal.

Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or four times in a row

On August 25, journalists from the ESF member countries during the draw determined the winners of the League tournament in Monaco: 39 votes were given to Lionel Messi, now the best player in Europe. And already on August 26, Barcelona wins the UEFA Super Cup.

At the 2011/12 Spanish Championship in the Barcelona-Osasuna match, Messi scored a hat-trick, as a result of which Barça won 8-0. The second hat-trick was scored against Atlético Madrid on 24 September.

On December 24, 2011, the French publication Equip recognized the Argentine footballer as the best athlete in the world. Lionel scored 807 points ahead of tennis player Novak Djokovic and Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel. Newspaper editorials reported that Messi is the first player since 1998 to win this category.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivals on the field

In March 2012, in the Barcelona-Granada match, scoring 3 goals, Leo set a performance record for all official Barca matches. In total, Messi already had 234 goals scored. On April 24, 2012, in the match Barcelona – Chelsea, Leo did not convert a penalty, and following the results of two matches with a score of 2: 3, the team did not reach the final and thus withdrew from the fight for the Champions Cup.

Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona

But already at the end of April, Barcelona defeated the Madrid FC Rayo Vallecano with a stunning 7-0 score. Messi has two goals and two assists in this match. At the end of the championship, Lionel became the top scorer: he scored 50 goals, thereby beating the leader of Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo. In February 2012, in a match against Switzerland, Messi again scored his famous hat-trick, which led to the victory of the Argentina national team with a score of 3: 1.

After every goal scored, Messi remembers his grandmother

The following season, Messi scored the 300th goal of his career against Rayo Vallecano on 27 October with Barcelona. And at the end of 2012, he was recognized as the best football player of the year by World Soccer magazine, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta. A month later, in Zurich, Lionel Messi became a four-time winner of the Golden Ball Award – the fourth year in a row. On February 7, 2013, the football player extended his contract with Barcelona until June 2018.

At the end of 2013, he lost the title of the best player of the year to Cristiano Ronaldo, and at the beginning of the next year he took only second place in the fight for the Golden Ball. But in March 2014, as part of the 28th round of the Spanish Championship, he scored a hat-trick, bringing the score of his goals for the Catalans to 371. So Messi became the best scorer in the history of Barcelona in all tournaments.

In the 2014 World Cup, the Argentina team successfully performed and reached the final, where they lost to the German team with a score of 0:1. In the 2014 World Cup, Messi played seven matches in which he scored four goals. He was recognized as the best player in the World Cup.

In 2014, the Spanish director Alexa de la Iglesia made an hour and a half documentary about Messi, in which he told in detail the story of his success. The tape includes many videos from the footballer’s archive.

In July 2017, Lionel Messi agreed a new contract with Barcelona. It was assumed that the new agreement would be valid until 2022 and that at the time of its completion, the player would already be 35.

Messi continues his career in Barcelona

In November of the same year, Messi, as part of the Argentina national team, came to Moscow. The national teams of Argentina and Russia met in a friendly match. Messi spent a whole week in the capital, to the delight of dozens of brave fans who took a selfie with the world football star. The week turned out to be difficult, and not only because of the huge number of people who wanted to take pictures – on the fifth day of the visit, during training, it started to snow over the stadium.

In August 2020, Messi announced his decision to leave Barcelona, exercising the right to terminate the contract with the club unilaterally. Of course, the club’s management was against such a decision, expressing the hope that the player would remain in the squad until the career final: “We want to build the future of Barcelona with the best player in the world. ” It was reported that the striker wants to move to Manchester City. According to sports media, Messi decided to leave Barcelona after a conversation with coach Ronald Koeman. However, later the player changed his mind and remained in the team.

Messi leaves Barcelona

In the fall of 2020, Lionel Messi spoke about the death of Diego Maradona, noting that the loss of an athlete is very serious for both Argentines and football in general.

On August 5, 2021, Messi nevertheless left Barcelona – information about this appeared on the club’s website. Everyone was sure that the Argentine would sign a new contract with the Catalan club, but this, alas, did not happen. It turned out that it was impossible to conclude an agreement due to a number of “financial and structural obstacles prescribed in the regulations of the Spanish league.”

Legal problems

In 2013, Messi and his father were accused of tax fraud. According to the Spanish prosecutor’s office, they did not pay more than 4 million euros to the national treasury. Both defendants denied their guilt.

Messi and his father in court

In 2016, Jorge and Lionel were sentenced to a year and 9 months in prison. However, the legislation allowed them to get off with fines: Messi Jr. paid 2 million euros, his father – 1 million.

Messi escaped prison

Personal life of Lionel Messi

At 18, Lionel Messi dated 14-year-old Macarena Lemos, a native of Rosario. The young model and the budding football player were introduced by the girl’s father, who is eager to profitably attach his daughter. However, their relationship did not work out – Lionel’s mother opposed, and there were no particularly warm feelings between them.

Macarena Lemos, Lionel Messi’s first girlfriend

Then he briefly dated Argentine Playboy model Luciana Salazar, Miss Poland Anna Werber, and Argentinean model Claudia Ciardone.

In 2009, Lionel was seen at the carnival in Sytgez with a petite dark-haired girl. She stood out from the row of curvy blondes who are used to seeing next to Messi. In one of the interviews, the football player confirmed the seriousness of his intentions: “I have a girlfriend, and she lives in Argentina, and I am happy with her.”

Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo

Later it turned out that her name is Antonella Rokuzzo, and she is also a native of the city of Rosario, moreover, they have known each other since childhood: their parents were friends, and Leo himself played on the field with Antonella’s cousin as a child.

Messi and his wife have known each other since childhood

In November 2012, Lionel and Antonella had a son, who was named Thiago. In honor of this event, the football player got a tattoo on his leg with his name and the image of his hands.

Lionel Messi with his son

In addition, Messi has a tattoo with a portrait of his grandmother on his back (the very first tattoo of an athlete), on his lower leg – the number “10” and a dagger, on his arm – Jesus in a crown of thorns, and on his elbow – a stained glass window of one of the churches of his hometown.

One of Messi’s tattoos

On June 30, 2017, Messi and Antonella formalized their relationship. The wedding of the Barcelona football player and his childhood friend took place in a hotel in the city of Rosario. The ceremony was attended by 260 guests and 157 members of the press.

June 30, 2017 Messi got married

The newlyweds insisted that instead of giving them gifts, the guests would transfer money to the account of the Techo Charitable Foundation. In honor of the wedding, they made paired tattoos on their fingers – the date of their wedding, written in Roman numerals.

Happy couple

For their honeymoon, the couple went to the island of Anigua, however, only for a week.

Messi’s wedding dance was criticized on the Web.

Messi dancing at the wedding

And soon after the wedding, it became known that Messi would become a dad again.

In addition to football activities, Messi takes part in the social life of the planet, Lionel is an international goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. In January 2013, the famous football player donated 152,000 euros for the reconstruction of a sports center in his hometown of Rosario.

At various times, Messi has been the face of the video games Pro Evolution Soccer, Adidas, MasterCard, Xbox, McDonald’s, Danone, Pepsi, Lays and many other lesser known brands.

Lionel Messi for Lay’s

chips

Lionel Messi is now

In December 2022, Argentina became the world champion for the first time since 1986, and Lionel Messi, albeit as part of the team, became the world champion for the first time. In the final, the Argentina national team met with the French national team. Messi opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a penalty for a foul on Ángel Di Maria, scoring a goal in extra time, on 109minute, putting the team ahead.

Messi brings Argentina third ever World Cup victory

4 minutes before the end of extra time, Frenchman Kylian Mbappe scored a goal against Argentina, equalizing the score to 3:3. The result of the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out, in which Argentina won.

The reaction of the Argentina national team to the victory

On the eve of the match, Messi announced that he was ending his career for the national team. “He could not have left more beautifully,” football experts say.

Biography of Leo Messi, forward and captain of Barcelona, six-time winner of the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot

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Lionel MESSI

TeamArgentina

Football

Olympic medals

Performances1

Debut Beijing 2008

Year of birth 901985 0005

Biography

Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini ⁠— Argentine footballer, captain Spanish club Barcelona, since 2011 – captain of the Argentina national team. Plays as a striker. Messi is the top scorer in the history of Barcelona and Argentina. With Barcelona, Messi has ten Spanish league titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, six Spanish Cups, eight Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and three Club World Cups. As part of the national team, Messi became the Olympic champion in 2008 and the silver medalist of the 2014 World Cup. During his career, Messi has won the Ballon d’Or seven times – the best player in the world at the end of the year.

The Argentine started playing football at the age of five in an amateur club coached by his father. At the age of 8, Messi moved to the school of the professional club ⁠ – Newell’s Old Boys. At the age of 11, Lionel was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency, requiring expensive treatment. At the age of 13, Barcelona scouts became interested in Messi. At the screening, the young football player impressed the director of the club so much that Messi was offered to pay for the treatment and relocation of the family to Spain. So Messi became a graduate of the Barcelona Football Academy. He has been playing for this club since the age of 17.

Since 2005, Messi began to play for the Argentina national team. In 2008, together with the Blue and Whites, he won the Beijing Olympic gold. Messi became one of the most valuable players of the tournament, and in the final he gave an assist.

World Championship Gold ⁠ is the only major title missing from Lionel’s treasury. Messi was closest to the title in 2014, when the Argentina national team lost to the German national team with a score of 1:0. Despite the loss of the Blue and Whites, Messi was recognized as the best player of the tournament, and also entered the symbolic team of the championship. In 2016, upset by the loss to the Chileans in the final of the America’s Cup on penalties, one of which he himself could not convert, Messi announced his retirement. However, after some time, Lionel changed his mind, returned to the Albicelesta and, together with the team, won the America’s Cup 2021.

Messi holds many records. For example, in 2014, Lionel broke the record for the number of goals in the Spanish Championship, which held for 59 years, and the record for performance in the Champions League. Messi ⁠ is the only player in the history of Spanish football to score over 500 goals while playing for one club.