Who is messi: Lionel Messi – Stats, Family & Facts

Lionel Messi – Stats, Family & Facts

(1987-)

Who Is Lionel Messi?

Luis Lionel Andres (“Leo”) Messi is an Argentinian soccer player who plays forward for the FC Barcelona club and the Argentina national team. At the age of 13, Messi moved from Argentina to Spain after FC Barcelona agreed to pay for his medical treatments.

There he earned renown as one of the greatest players in history, helping his club win more than two dozen league titles and tournaments. In 2012, he set a record for most goals in a calendar year, and in 2019, he was named Europe’s Ballon d’Or winner for the sixth time.

Early Life

Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. As a young boy, Messi tagged along when his two older brothers played soccer with their friends, unintimidated by the bigger boys. At the age of 8, he was recruited to join the youth system of Newell’s Old Boys, a Rosario-based club.

Recognizably smaller than most of the kids in his age group, Messi was eventually diagnosed by doctors as suffering from a hormone deficiency that restricted his growth. Messi’s parents, Jorge and Ceclia, decided on a regimen of nightly growth-hormone injections for their son, though it soon proved impossible to pay several hundred dollars per month for the medication.

So, at the age of 13, when Messi was offered the chance to train at soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia, and have his medical bills covered by the team, Messi’s family picked up and moved across the Atlantic to make a new home in Spain. Although he was often homesick in his new country, Messi moved quickly through the junior system ranks.

Ultimately, Messi’s short stature (5 feet, 7 inches), combined with his speed and relentless attacking style, has drawn comparisons to another famous Argentinian footballer, Diego Maradona.

Lionel Messi at a Barcelona soccer match, April 2017.

Photo: Josep Lago AFP Getty Images

Soccer Career and Teams

FC Barcelona and Argentina

Messi has only played for FC Barcelona, where he first signed at age 13. He also plays for the Argentina national team.

By the age of 16, Messi made his first appearance for the FC Barcelona, putting himself in the record books on May 1, 2005, as the youngest player to ever score a goal for the franchise. That same year, he led Argentina to the title in the under-20 World Cup, scoring on a pair of penalty kicks to propel the team over Nigeria.

Messi steered Barcelona to a wealth of success, most notably in 2009, when the left-footer’s team captured the Champions League, La Liga, and Spanish Super Cup titles. That same year, after two consecutive runner-up finishes, he took home his first FIFA “World Player of the Year” honor/Ballon d’Or award.

Even the great Maradona gushed about his fellow countryman. “I see him as very similar to me,” the retired player told the BBC. “He’s a leader and is offering lessons in beautiful football. He has something different than any other player in the world.”

Amazingly, the soccer wizard continued to improve, discovering new ways to elude defenders while leading Barcelona to La Liga and Spanish Super Cup championships in 2010 and 2011, as well as the ’11 Champions League title.

Messi embarked on an all-out assault on the record books in 2012. He became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match in early March, and a few weeks later he surpassed Cesar Rodriguez’s club-record 232 goals to become Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer.

By the end of 2012, Messi had accumulated an astounding 91 goals in club and international play, eclipsing the 85 netted in a single calendar year by Gerd Muller in 1972. Fittingly, he broke another record when he was named the FIFA Ballon d’Or winner for the fourth time in January 2013.

The soccer great came back to earth somewhat that year due to the persistence of hamstring injuries, but he regained his record-breaking form by becoming the all-time leading scorer in La Liga and Champions League play in late 2014.

After helping Barcelona achieve a historic second treble in 2015, he was honored with his fifth FIFA Ballon d’Or trophy. Four years later, following another La Liga title, Messi again established a new standard for excellence by claiming his sixth Ballon d’Or.

On August 10, 2021, Messi joined French club Paris Saint-Germain. He made his debut for the club on August 29.

Criticism for Argentina National Team Performance

For all his success with Barcelona, Messi has come under fire for his inability to help Argentina’s national team win a major title. He did lead “La Albiceleste” to the final of the 2014 World Cup, and was named player of the tournament, although his team lost to Germany.

In 2016, following Argentina’s second consecutive loss to Chile in the final of the Copa America tournament, Messi announced he was ending his run with the national team.

The soccer great eventually reversed his decision, but his participation in the 2018 World Cup did not bring that elusive title, as hoped. After Messi scored an early goal in a 2-1 win over Nigeria that helped his team advance from the group stage, he was largely kept in check by France, his two assists not enough to stave off a 4-3 defeat that sent Argentina packing.

The following year, after Messi heavily criticized the referees in the wake of a 2-0 loss to Brazil in the Copa America semifinals, the Argentine captain was slapped with a three-game ban by the South American Football Confederation.

Stats

As of August 2019, Messi’s all-time highlights for FC Barcelona:

• Appearances: 687
• Goals: 603
• Assists: 251
• Shot accuracy: 48 percent
• Chances created: 348

Messi has won FIFA’s Player of the Year six times. He’s also won the European Golden Shoe for top scorer six times, two more than his nearest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Tax Fraud Scandal

In July 2016, Messi suffered a blow off the soccer field when a Barcelona court found him and his father guilty of three counts of tax fraud. During a four-day trial, Messi and his father denied breaking the law and claimed they were unaware of any tax illegalities that were committed.

However, they were both sentenced to 21 months in prison. Under Spanish law, first offenses under two years are suspended so they did not go to jail, but Messi was ordered to pay a fine of 2 million euros. His father was required to pay 1.5 million euros.

Personal Life

On June 30, 2017, Messi married Antonella Roccuzzo, his longtime girlfriend and the cousin of his best friend and fellow soccer player Lucas Scaglia. Messi and Roccuzzo have three children together: Thiago, born in November 2012, Mateo, born in September 2015 and Ciro, born in March 2018.

Messi met Roccuzzo in their hometown of Rosario when he was 5 years old. Their marriage, a civil ceremony dubbed by Argentina’s Clarín newspaper as the “wedding of the century,” was held at a luxury hotel in Rosario, with a number of fellow star soccer players and Colombian pop star Shakira on the 260-person guest list.

Charity and UNICEF

Although famously private off the field, Messi has quietly helped others in need. In 2007, he formed the Leo Messi Foundation to provide opportunities for disadvantaged youths. In early 2010, UNICEF named him a goodwill ambassador, with a focus on fighting for children’s rights across the globe.

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• Birth Year: 1987
• Birth date: June 24, 1987
• Birth City: Rosario
• Birth Country: Argentina
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Lionel Messi is a soccer player with Paris Saint-Germain and the Argentina national team. He has established records for goals scored and won individual awards en route to worldwide recognition as one of the best players in soccer.
• Industries
• Sports
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• Nacionalities
• Argentine
• Interesting Facts
• When Lionel Messi was young, he suffered from a hormone deficiency that restricted his growth.
• As of 2017 Messi has an estimated net worth of $80 million.

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn’t look right,contact us!

• Article Title: Lionel Messi Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/athletes/lionel-messi
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: February 17, 2022
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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• Every time I start a year, I start with the objective of trying to achieve everything, without comparing it to how I’ve done in other seasons.
• Whether it’s a friendly match, or for points, or a final, or any game — I play the same. I’m always trying to be my best, first for my team, for myself, for the fans, and to try and win.
• I am competitive and I feel bad when we lose. You can see it in me when we’ve lost. I’m in a bad way. I don’t like to talk to anyone.
• I made sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a new life. I changed my friends, my people. Everything. But everything I did, I did for football, to achieve my dream.
• I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I’m not enjoying it, I will leave football.
• I’ve never stopped being Argentine, and I’ve never wanted to. I feel very proud of being Argentine, even though I left there. I’ve been clear about this since I was very young, and I never wanted to change.
• Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win. I’ve always had this ability to get up and get on with it.
• I wasn’t teased as a child for my size. In fact I think I had more affection because I was small.
• I am lucky, I live by my passion and there are a lot of people who work, doing what they don’t like and are badly paid for that.

Who Is Lionel Messi? | Wonderopolis

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Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Jessica. Jessica Wonders, “Who was Lionel Messi?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Jessica!

Do you tune in for the World Cup every four years? Do you dream of completing a hat trick in front of thousands of fans? Maybe you pull on your favorite jersey and cheer for your team to win a match every weekend. If so, it sounds like you’re a big fan of the world’s most popular sport—football!

Of course, if you live in the United States, you might call it “soccer.” Either way, billions of people around the world are fans of this sport. If you’re one of them, you’ve definitely heard of the athlete we’re talking about today. His name is Lionel Messi.

Who is Lionel Messi? Before he became one of the world’s greatest athletes, he was just a kid who loved to play soccer with his brothers and friends. He was born in 1987 and grew up in Rosario, Argentina.

As a kid, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency (GHD). This is a rare condition in which the body doesn’t produce expected amounts of growth hormone. It can cause developmental delays and symptoms like fatigue. Often, people with GHD are shorter than average and have a hard time building muscle.

Messi began receiving treatment for GHD, but it quickly became very expensive. At age 13, his skills on the soccer field resulted in an offer to train at La Masia. That’s the youth academy of Football Club (FC) Barcelona. As part of this offer, the team would also cover Messi’s GHD treatments. 

The Messi family relocated to Spain, where the young athlete quickly made a name for himself. His first official match as part of FC Barcelona’s first team came in 2004. Messi was only 17 years old. By 2008, he was the team’s top player.

Today, many people say Messi is the greatest football player in the world. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has given him the Ballon d’Or award six times. He’s also the Champions League’s all-time leading scorer and won FIFA’s The Best award in 2019. 

Currently, Messi still plays for FC Barcelona. Off the field, he is a husband and father of three. He also founded the Leo Messi Foundation in 2007. This is a nonprofit organization. It supports programs bringing education, clean water, and health care to children around the world. 

Where will Lionel Messi go from here? His status as a world-class athlete and philanthropist could take him anywhere. Stay tuned to find out how this star writes the rest of his story!

Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards, and National Council for the Social Studies.”>Standards:

CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1,CCRA.W.2, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2,

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Ask a grown-up to help you with the activities below!

• Take a look at Messi’s career so far in 25 images. What do you think is the most impressive accomplishment of Messi’s athletic career so far? Why? Discuss with a friend or family member. 
• What else would you like to know about Lionel Messi? What would you talk to him about if you could meet him? Write a letter to Messi in which you ask him questions about himself. Include anything else you’d like to say to Messi. Then, share what you wrote with a friend or family member.
• Go outside! Spend some time being active today. Take a friend or family member with you and play a game. Will you play soccer? Basketball? Even a fun round of tag can be a great way to stay active. You could also check out some of these fun educational outdoor activities. Have fun getting some exercise and having fun.

Wonder Sources

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lionel-Messi (accessed 05 Oct. 2020)
• https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/players/4974/lionel-messi/694461/lionel-messi (accessed 05 Oct. 2020)
• https://www. forbes.com/profile/lionel-messi/#e2ac0855e9fc (accessed 05 Oct. 2020)
• https://www.healthline.com/health/growth-hormone-deficiency (accessed 05 Oct. 2020)
• https://www.biography.com/athlete/lionel-messi (accessed 05 Oct. 2020)
• https://www.vallhebron.com/en/list-of-organisations/leo-messi-foundation (accessed 05 Oct. 2020)

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Lionel Messi. The story of the legendary Argentine.

Lionel Messi is unique, first of all, in that he achieved almost everything in world football, being from the simplest Argentine family, his mother was a cleaner, and his father was a simple worker.

Also, Leo deserves respect that in the course of his formation as a football player, he had to overcome a congenital disease associated with a lag in the growth of his body.
Due to what the future star of world football managed to overcome all the difficulties that fate had in store for him, at the stage of his professional development, we will just try to figure it out in this article.

Childhood

Lionel Messi was born on June 24, 1984 in Rosario. In the family of a simple worker from a factory and a cleaner, in addition to Leo, two more sons grew up – Rodrigo and Matias; and a daughter, Maria. You can immediately understand that the family did not have to show off, and even every little thing got hard work.
For the Young Argentine, things could have turned out quite differently if his father had not coached the local Grandolini football team. It was in it that the young Argentine had to take his first steps in football. But then, when Leo was only 5 years old and he was just starting to join the game, no one could even imagine what he could achieve in the future and how high he would fly.

Boyhood

At the age of 11, Lionel was already starting to sell professional football. At this age, he got into the Newells Old Boys team and it was there that he began to show the makings of a talented player. In the future, scouts of the famous Argentinean club River Plate noticed him. And it so happened that for some time Leo trained in both teams at once.
However, not everything was so rosy. It soon became clear that Leo was suffering from a hormonal disorder. The whole family was very upset, as was Messi himself. Due to illness, his height did not correspond to his age, and as a result, he began to lag far behind his peers in growth.
To defeat the disease, expensive drugs were required that the family simply could not afford. For the future genius of world football, everything could have turned out quite differently if his father had not found a way out of a difficult situation at one time.
At that time, sending his son to Barcelona for a trial was the right decision, because, by prior agreement, the club’s management promised to cover the financial costs of Leo’s treatment. And so, who knows how the fate of Messi would have developed if it were not for the correct decision of his father at that time.
On October 30, 2000, the young Argentine joined the Catalan children’s team, who covered all the costs of treatment. And they did not lose, because Leo scored five goals in the very first game for the youth team! Then everything developed rapidly. By the end of his first season with the Barça youth team, Lionel had 37 goals in 30 matches.

Youth

The Argentine made his debut for the main team of the Blue Garnet on November 17, 2003 in a match against the Portuguese Porto. Already after the debut match, many well-known sports newspapers began to write about the young Argentinean talent. Some immediately began to compare him with such football legends as Maradona and Johan Cruyff.

In an official match, Leo made his debut on October 16, 2004 against Espanyol. Then Leo came out as a winger. And in the end, the debut was successful, as his team won with a score of 1-0.
On May 1, 2005, Leo managed to score the first goal against the opponents of Albacete, thanks to which the history of the Catalan club captured him on its pages as the youngest player to distinguish himself in the championship game in Spain. Football player Lionel Messi was then under the age of majority for a little less than two months.
On May 1, 2005, Messi was able to open the scoring with his goals for the Catalan first team. He distinguished himself in the match against Albacete. This goal made him the youngest player to score in the Spanish Example.
Achievements

Lionel Messi, although not yet the most titled football player on the planet, has already managed to collect a whole scattering of various awards, both team and personal, during his brilliant career.
Club

Messi is a 10-time Spanish Champion, 6-time Spanish Cup winner, 8-time Spanish Super Cup winner. Four times he became the winner of the Champions League, 3 times the owner of the UEFA Super Cup and three times the winner of the club world championship.
National team

For the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi became the champion of the Olympic Games in 2008, the silver medalist of the World Championship in 2014, the winner of the America’s Cup in 2021 and another multiple winner of this tournament. For the Argentine national team, only the World Cup remains to be won.
Personal awards.
Only the most important personal awards will be listed in this list, because if you list everything, then it will take too much time.
Argentina Footballer of the Year – 10 times; the owner of the “golden ball” – 6 times; winner of the “Golden Boot” award – 6 times; FIFA Player of the Year – 6 times; top scorer of the Champions League – 5 times; the best football player on the planet according to World Soccer – 5 times; and many other awards.

The personal life of the football star

The young man Lionel Messi does not really want to advertise his personal life. But the ubiquitous reporters and his fans are interested in even the smallest details, temporal connections and preferences.

Messi never tried to advertise his personal life. But being a star of such a collibre, it is not always possible to hide from prying eyes. From time to time about the Argentine every now and then the yellow press throws up all sorts of different unconfirmed facts about his personal life.

But these myths are always dispelled very quickly, because the Argentinean is a decent family man. The family and children of Lionel Messi consist of himself, his beloved wife Antonella Rocuzzo and three sons, the youngest of whom was born recently.

Often our hero flies to Argentina, where his parents and brothers live. He gives master classes for Argentine boys who dream of becoming famous football stars.

Conclusion

Having become a legendary football player throughout his career, Lionel faithfully serves only one team – Barcelona. Thus, expressing his gratitude for the fact that they believed in him in childhood and gave him all the conditions that he could fully develop and become a legend of the club and world football. In the summer of 2021, the Argentine once again proved his love and devotion to the club. Barcelona are currently in big financial trouble and Lionel has agreed to re-sign with a 50% pay cut. Can you imagine Cristiano Ronaldo taking such a step for Juventus or Real Madrid? We are unlikely to see this.

Lionel Messi – biography, personal life, photo, news, documentary, age, football player, goals, Ronaldo 2023

Biography

Lionel Messi is the greatest player in modern football. His perseverance, unique ability to overcome opponents’ defense and amazing tricks both at the beginning of his career and now continue to delight fans. Titles, achievements and titles have been assigned to him, but the striker himself claims that individual awards are in second place for him, the main thing is the success of the team.

Childhood and youth

The athlete was born on June 24, 1987 in the Argentine city of Rosario. His nationality is mixed, and his zodiac sign is Cancer. He grew up with two older brothers, Matthias and Rodrigo, and his sister Maria Sol. Jorge Horacio, Lionel’s father, worked at a local ironworks and coached a youth football team in his spare time. Mother Celia Maria worked in the service industry.

The grandmother was engaged in the upbringing of the young talent. As a child, when Lionel was 5 years old, she brought him to the amateur club “Grandoli” and convinced the family that a talented football player would grow out of the boy, firmly stating that the child had a gift that other children did not have. In the future, he did not forget the support of his beloved grandmother Celia, dedicating the goals scored to her.

Lionel Messi in his youth and Diego Maradona / @leomessi

Already at a young age, Messi’s main passion was football. The guy played for the Newells Old Boys club. At the age of 11, he began to have problems with growth hormone, the lack of which often leads to a complete stop in the development of the body, which would mean the collapse of a sports biography. The parents had to spend $900 each month to treat the disease. Thanks to the efforts of his family, Messi’s health returned to normal. Today, the striker is 170 cm tall and weighs 72 kg.

Soon the scouts of FC Barcelona noticed the talented guy and invited Lionel to Europe. He received 7 classes of education, which, however, did not prevent him from achieving career heights. Later it became known that Messi and Roma striker Bojan Krkic are distant relatives. The roots of both players go back to the Catalan family of Peres. The guys’ great-grandfathers, Ramon and Goncal, turned out to be siblings. Later, Ramona’s granddaughter moved to Argentina, where she became the wife of Eusebio Baro Messi. And the descendants of Gonzal remained in Catalonia.

Barcelona

In 2000, the Argentine moved to Spain and began playing in the youth team of the Catalan Barcelona. In the first match, Lionel made poker by scoring 4 goals, and over the next 30 games he managed to send 37 balls into the opponents’ goal. After 3 years, he made his debut in professional football in a friendly match against the Portuguese FC Porto. Messi’s first goal was scored by Albacete in 2005, becoming the youngest player in the history of the Catalan club who managed to hit the opponent’s goal in the main Spanish championship.

The best career statistic for an athlete was recorded in 2012, when the striker sent 50 goals against opponents in La Liga matches. In the 2011/2012 season, the striker, who scored a double in the fight with Betis, chalked up the 86th goal in 66 matches. Thus, he broke the 40-year-old record of the German striker Gerd Müller.

During the same period, Messi became the first player in the world to receive 4 FIFA Golden Balls. In terms of the number of these awards, the Argentine competed with another great football player of our time, Cristiano Ronaldo. The attacker’s income reached € 20 million, and the filmmakers made him the main character of the documentary.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo / @GOAL

On November 25, 2017, Lionel extended his contract with Barcelona until 2021. The release amount was € 700 million. In subsequent years, the player number 10 showed good results, as evidenced by numerous awards. In particular, in December 2019, the striker received the sixth Ballon d’Or in his career, as well as The Best – 2019 award from FIFA. However, in 2020, with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, a lot has changed.

Quarantine had a negative impact on the financial condition of the forward. The club’s management decided to cut the wages of players by 70%. In addition, it required them to make contributions in order to keep 100 percent of the earnings of ordinary employees.

In May, the Barcelona players resumed individual training at the Catalan club base. Messi proved to be in excellent physical shape and ready for the start of the new season. However, in the process, he suffered a quadriceps injury and fell off the regimen for several weeks. The first match after the quarantine, Barcelona played against Mallorca, winning with a score of 5:2.

On June 29, there was a meeting with Celta with a draw (2:2). The fans of the game remember the conflict situation that arose on the field between the players and the coaching staff. Messi openly humiliated Eder Sarabia, who holds the post of assistant coach. When he approached him during a break to give instructions, Lionel simply turned away. The media note that this is not the first time that Barcelona players have shown themselves this way. Apparently, they were disappointed in coach Quique Setien.

On August 8, the second leg of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League took place. The host was the Italian “Napoli” at the stadium “Camp Nou”. The game was tight. In the 23rd minute, Lionel scored and scored a goal against Napoli. The match ended with the score 2:0 in favor of the Spaniards. In the 1/4 League, the blue garnet lost to Bayern. The score was devastating – 2:8. For Catalan captain Messi, this loss was the biggest in his entire career.

The club started preparing another contract for the player. The salary of the Argentine, according to his terms, was at the level of € 50 million for one game season. The contract is valid until the summer of 2023. However, the striker himself thought about leaving the Catalan club. Messi has been frustrated by the team’s mediocre results over recent seasons. Another reason why the footballer wanted to leave is the dismissal of coach Ernesto Valverde, with whom he had friendly relations.

Football player Lionel Messi in FC Barcelona / @leomessi

Many football clubs sought to get the Argentinean. However, Manchester City, Juventus, Inter and Lokomotiv remained the main contenders for the transfer. They were ready to offer contracts with the most favorable conditions for the player. CSKA defender Mike James wanted Messi to continue his career at Juventus and team up with Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the summer, the player deliberately began to boycott training and testing for COVID-19hosted by FC Barcelona. Thus, the captain showed his desire to move to another club. Barcelona allowed the possibility of Messi leaving, however, on the condition that he pays compensation in the amount of € 700 million. As a result, Messi’s struggle “for freedom” was not successful – the footballer was forced to stay for the 2020/2021 season. He rejoined team training.

The beginning of 2021 was not very successful for the athlete. In January, while playing in the Spanish Super Cup, Messi received his first red card at club level. The reason for the penalty was a blow inflicted by Lionel on the opponent’s head. Later, in the 1/8 of the Champions League, Barcelona left the tournament – at this stage, this happened in the history of the team for the first time in 14 years.

Prediction articles were often published in the press: journalists tried to guess which club the striker would prefer when his contract with Barcelona ended. Some of them were even funny. So, in January, a fictitious correspondence between the player and Spartak appeared on the Web. A short ironic dialogue included only 2 phrases: – Hi, Leo! (“Hello Leo!”)

– No. (“No.”)

Earlier, the media also reported that representatives of Inter Miami, FC David Beckham were interested in the player. In May, it became known that the striker had allegedly extended his contract with Barcelona until the summer of 2023. However, in August, all the media spread the news – Messi left Barça. According to the press service of the FC, it was not possible to re-sign the contract due to the financial rules of the Spanish championship.

PSG

On August 10, Lionel arrived in Paris and signed a contract with PSG until 2023 with the possibility of an extension until 2024. The football player’s game number is 30. Since he moved on as a free agent, the French FC did not pay anything for a transfer that could have been a record in football history.

In November Messiah won the Ballon d’Or award for the 7th time.

Argentina national team

Messi played in the Argentinean team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. In China, he won the tournament, becoming the Olympic champion. At the 2010 World Cup, he reached the quarterfinals with the national team, where the Argentines suffered a crushing defeat from the Germans with a score of 0: 4.

Lionel Messi in the Argentina national team / @leomessigoals in international competitions: 68 in 136 matches. In 2010, during the game with Greece, Lionel received the captain’s armband, thereby becoming the youngest national team captain in the history of Argentine football. In 2016, in the final of the America’s Cup, which was held in the United States, the team lost in the penalty shootout to the Chile national team – 2: 4, and Messi could not convert a kick from the 11-meter mark.

Despite the heated announcement of his retirement, Messi came to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Argentina national team played a draw with Iceland (1:1) and lost to the Croats (0:3). The match with Nigeria put everything at stake – an exit in 1/8 or an inglorious return home. Everyone was waiting for a goal from the leader of the blue and white, and it happened in the 14th minute of the meeting. Having beaten Nigeria, Argentina advanced to the 1/8 finals. On June 30, 2018, the French team “buried” the Argentina national team. The match ended with a score of 4:3 in favor of the French, Messi and the team went home.

In May 2019, the coach of the Argentine national team invited Lionel to return to the squad for the America’s Cup. Despite the fact that, after several games, the Argentina team managed to win in 1/4, the skill of Messi himself was criticized by the media. The athlete himself did not deny that he was not satisfied with his own performance in the tournament, in addition, he complained about the poor quality of the playing fields.

Later, the player allowed to speak sharply about the unfair refereeing after losing the match against Brazil. In August, it became known that Lionel was suspended from participation in international tournaments for 3 months, and also ordered to pay a fine of $ 50 thousand for a comment sent to the judge. The autumn of 2020 became more productive: the athlete played 4 matches in the qualifying stage for the 2022 World Cup.

In 2021, Messi helped his national team win the Copa América.

Business and charity

In memory of Messi’s childhood years when he had to fight for his own health, today he is involved in charitable causes. His foundation raises funds to help sick Argentinean children in need of expensive treatment. There are among the wards of the organization and adolescents with a lack of growth hormone.

Lionel Messi’s hairstyle / @leomessi

In 2016, Lionel and his father were accused of not paying part of their taxes. The striker was fined €2 million and Jorge Messi €1.5 million, while the parent had to spend 21 more months in prison. But the athlete managed, through the creation of an offshore company, to hide those incomes that aroused suspicion from the tax authorities. The charges were dropped from the player. In favor of Messi played the fact that he did not refuse to play in charity matches.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought all football matches to a halt. In quarantine, Messi did not waste time in vain. He trained, promoted the business – clothing brand The Messi Store, changed his hairstyle and shaved off his beard. In addition, Lionel has joined the fight against COVID-19. He donated €1 million to a medical center in Argentina and a hospital in Barcelona.

Personal life

The first official girlfriend of the famous football player is considered to be the Argentinean Macarena Lemos, with whom Lionel began dating at 19- summer age. But Messi’s passion for football soon put an end to the relationship. In his youth, the guy started an affair with another compatriot – model and Playboy star Louisiana Salazar. But this romance did not last long.

Football player’s family

Lionel found real happiness in his personal life with his old friend Antonella Roccuzzo. The football player met her in early childhood, they lived in the same city. Messi often played football with the girl’s brothers. On November 2, 2012, Roccuzzo and Messi had a son, Thiago. And in April 2015, the famous football player confirmed that their family was again expecting replenishment. Soon there were two children: the couple had a son, Mateo.

Lionel Messi with his wife Antonella Rocuzzo and children / @leomessi

June 30, 2017 Lionel Messi married Antonella. Their wedding took place in the city of Rosario. The event was luxurious and held with increased security measures, as the celebration was attended by 250 guests, including world football stars and other celebrities. In October 2017, the couple announced that they were expecting a baby. In March 2018, Messi and his wife had a third heir, who was named Ciro. Photos of the athlete with his sons often appear on his Instagram page (the social network is banned in the Russian Federation, it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation).

Lionel Messi now

At the beginning of 2022, Lionel fell ill with a coronavirus infection, which caused him to miss several matches. In the spring, Messi helped his team at a meeting with Lens, scoring a goal against opponents. As a result, PSG became the champion of France.

Ahead of the footballer was an important moment in his career – the 5th World Cup. The World Cup was held in Qatar. Sports publications were betting whether the striker would be able to break the record of Gabriel Batistuta, who scored 10 goals against opponents at the World Cup in his professional biography. This figure for Lassie at the start of the tournament was 6 goals.

November 22, the Argentina national team played with Saudi Arabia. It is curious that in friendly matches the meeting of these teams ended in a crushing defeat of the latter, so the fans were confident in the victory of Argentina. However, the result of the meeting turned out to be sensational – the Saudis managed to score 2 goals and snatch a victory with a score of 2: 1.

In an interview, Lionel admitted the mistakes of his team, which this time played poorly. He called the monotonous game and frequent offsights the reason for the defeat. Despite that loss, Argentina reached the final of the 2022 World Cup, and this was the merit of Messi. He scored a goal + a pass three times – in matches with Mexico, in the 1/4 finals with Holland and in the semi-finals against Croatia. In addition, the footballer scored goals in games with Australia and Saudi Arabia.

In the final, Messi managed to turn the tide of the game by converting a penalty in regular time, as well as sending the ball into the opponents’ goal in the penalty shoot-out. Argentina won the World Cup for the first time since 1986, and Lionel became the best player in the 2022 World Cup.

Awards and achievements

FC Barcelona

• 2018/19 – Spanish champion
• 2008/09, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 – Spanish Cup winner
• 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018 – Spanish Super Cup winner

PSG

• 2021/2022 – French champion 9022 French Super Cup

Argentina

• 2008 – Olympic champion
• 2014 – World Cup silver medalist
• 2007, 2015, 2016 – America’s Cup silver medalist
• 2021 – America’s Cup winner peace

Personal achievements:

• 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 – the best player of the year in Argentina

9019 – 2019. 2 “Golden Ball” France Football

• 2009 FIFA Player of the Year
• 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or
• 2019 The Best FIFA Men’s Player
• 2022 FIFA World Cup Player of the Year0 069 Interesting facts
  1. In an interview, Messi admitted that he does not like it when fans call him God: “I respect this, knowing that people say this without malicious intent, but this is an exaggeration.” In addition, his children hear it, and then repeat it.
  2. Lionel believes that the best era in his career was under Josep Guardiola. And the most significant goal was scored with a header against Manchester United in the Champions League final.
  3. Guillem Balague wrote a book about sports celebrity “Messi. Football genius.
  4. All of Messi’s tattoos are done by one master – Roberto Lopez. He got his first tattoo on his back in the form of his mother’s face in 2010. The football player took this step for a long time and even asked Dani Alves how much it would hurt.