Getting to know the biography of Lionel Messi:

Barbod zolanvari
10 min readDec 11, 2023

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Lionel Messi is one of the best and most exciting football talents in the world. He had all the signs of a promising football career ahead, but at the age of 11 he was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. Messi, the Guinness world record as the best scorer in one year, scored 91 goals.

A summary of Lionel Messi’s biography:

Full name: Lionel Andres Messi Cuccitini

Date of birth: June 24, 1987 (1987–06–24)

Place of birth: Rosario, Argentina

Height: 1.69 meters (5 feet 7 inches)

Occupation: Football player

Position: Attacker

Shirt number: 10

Guinness World Record for top scorer for club and country in a calendar year: 91 goals in 2012

Biography of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is an Argentinian footballer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the modern generation. He plays for Barcelona and Argentina national team. He has won the FIFA World Player of the Year five times (2009 – 12 and 2015). He is often referred to as Diego Maradona’s successor due to his scoring record and ability to dribble past opponents.

Diego Maradona said:

I have seen the player who will inherit my position in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius and he can become a better player.

His potential is limitless and I think he has what it takes to become the best player in Argentina.

Short biography of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina in a working class family. His father was a steel factory worker and his mother was a cleaner.

He started acting as a child and his talent soon became apparent. However, at the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). It was a growth-arresting condition that required expensive medical treatment, including the use of human growth hormone.

His local club, River Platte, was interested in Messi, but did not want to pay for his treatment. However, Messi had a trial with Barcelona and coach Carles Rexach was impressed – offering Messi a contract (written on a piece of paper!) that included paying for Messi’s treatment in Spain. Messi moved to Barcelona with his father and became a member of the Barcelona youth academy.

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Biography of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi said:

I made a lot of sacrifices by leaving Argentina and leaving my family to start a new life. But I did everything for football to achieve my dream. «That’s why I didn’t go out partying or doing anything.»

Lionel Messi progressed through the ranks and made his debut in the 2004/05 season, becoming the youngest player to score in the league. In 2006, Messi was part of a double-winning team that won both La Liga (the Spanish league) and the Champions League. The following season, (2006–2007) at the age of 20, Messi was the first striker and an important part of the Barcelona team – scoring 14 goals in 26 league games.

In the 2009–10 season, Messi scored 47 goals in all competitions, equaling Ronaldo’s record for Barcelona. As the seasons passed, Messi was constantly improving and breaking his records. In 2012, he broke the world record for most goals scored in a single year. His final goal tally in 2012 was 91 – beating the previous record of 85 by Germany’s Gerd Müller and 75 by Pele in 1958.

Gerd Muller said:

My record stood for 40 years — 85 goals in one year — and now the best player in the world has broken it, and I am happy for him. “He is an incredible player, a giant.”

At the beginning of 2013, in club football, Messi has scored 292 goals from a total of 359 games and in international football, 31 goals from 76 games.

At the end of 2012, Messi turned down a very lucrative offer to play for an unnamed Russian team. It paid Messi 20 million euros a year, making her the most expensive player in the world (Barcelona paid 250 million euros). She turned down the offer because she was not sure she would play in the major European championships and there were problems with the transfer to Russia. Instead, she signed a contract with Barcelona until the end of 2018. When asked about a move to the English Premier League, Messi expressed her commitment to Barcelona.

Lionel Messi said:

Barcelona is my life. They have brought me to where I am today. I couldn’t go, I don’t want to go. I know the Premier League is very good. But I can’t see myself playing in England because my heart is always with Barcelona.

International job

Since Messi grew up in Spain, she has been a Spanish citizen since she was 11 years old. In 2004, she was offered to play for Spain’s under-20 team, but Messi chose to play for her native Argentina. She led Argentina to victory in the 2005 FIFA Youth Championship. Messi made her full international debut in August 2005 during a friendly against Hungary. Messi was sent off in her first game for elbowing a player. The decision was controversial and did not match Messi’s style of play, which is generally clean and in the spirit of fair play. She has rarely been accused of diving.

In 2006, she participated in the World Cup and became the youngest player for Argentina to play in the World Cup. Argentina was eliminated in the quarter-finals. She won the Olympic gold medal for Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At first, Barcelona did not allow her to play, but new manager Pep Guardiola gave her time off.

At the 2010 World Cup, Messi wore the number 10 shirt and played well as Argentina reached the quarter-finals, but Messi struggled to score as Argentina lost 4–0 to Germany in the quarter-finals. . Messi admitted that she is desperate to play in the World Cup final. Messi’s success in the World Cup will be the ultimate test of greatness. In contrast, Pele was part of the Brazilian team that won the World Cup three times in 58, 62 and 70.

Messi is widely regarded as one of the most exciting players of the modern era — indeed, of any age. She has a unique ability to dribble and deal with opponents. Maradona has described her ball control very well. The ball is stuck to her leg. “I’ve seen great players in my career, but I’ve never seen someone who controls the ball like Messi.” Messi has said that she wants to keep the joy of playing football as a child.

Lionel Messi said:

I haven’t changed anything, my playing style is still like a child. I know that above all it is my job and I have to approach it in a different way, but one should not lose sight of the fact that football is a game. Playing is necessary to have fun, to be happy. That’s what kids do and I do the same thing.”

After winning the Ballon d’Or for the fourth time in January 2013, Messi said:

“Honestly, it’s really unbelievable. The fourth award I’ve received is too great for words.

Messi and Ronaldo

Messi is often compared to Real Madrid’s prolific goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo, but both have been keen to downplay the rivalry.

Cristiano Ronaldo said in September 2011:

Messi has his own personality and I have mine. He has his game and I have mine. I also play in a big club like him. We are different in every way. But right now, he’s the best.”

Messi’s scoring record

By any measure, Messi’s goalscoring record is exceptional. As of June 2019, he has scored 419 goals in 445 official games for FC Barcelona.

In the 2012/13 season, Messi set the world record for scoring in 21 consecutive games (33 goals from 21 games).

He holds the Guinness World Record for most goals in a calendar year — 91 goals in 2012.

He is the only player to score in four consecutive Champions League seasons.

His international record for Argentina is 68 goals in 133 games.

Biography of Lionel Messi, Messi, Leo Messi

Biography of Lionel Messi

Individual honors of Lionel Messi:

  • The best young player in the world (2006, 2007 and 2008)
  • - The best scorer of the U20 World Cup (2005)
  • - The best player of the Under-20 World Cup (2005)
  • - The best player of La Liga (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
  • - La Liga’s best scorer (2010 and 2012)
  • - Golden shoe of Europe (2010, 2012 and 2013)
  • - World Football Player of the Year (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012)
  • - The best scorer of the European Champions League (2009, 2010, 2011)
  • - The best scorer in the history of Barcelona club
  • - Scored the most goals in one year with 91 goals
  • Alfredo Di Stefano Award: (2009, 2010 and 2011)
  • - The best player of the World Cup (2014)

— LaLiga 2015–2014

- Copa America 2015

- European Ballon d’Or 2015

Messi’s great honors:

Barcelona

  • Spanish La Liga title (*10): 2004 — 05, 2005 — 06, 2008 — 09, 2009 — 10, 2010 — 11, 2012 — 13, 2014 — 15, 2015 — 16
  • - Spanish National Cup (*6) — Copa del Rey
  • — Spanish Super Cup (*6)
  • - European Champions League (*4): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15
  • - UEFA Super Cup (*3)
  • - FIFA Club World Cup (3)

Argentina

- Olympic gold medal: 2008

- Under-20 World Cup: 2005

- World Cup 2006 — QF

- World Cup 2010 — QF

- World Cup 2014 — runner-up.

- World Cup 2018

- World Cup 2022

Messi’s wealth and income:

Messi has been the target of other football clubs with big transfer budgets many times, but he remains loyal to Barcelona. He is one of the highest paid footballers in the world. His basic salary is estimated at 40 million euros per year. His total income in 2018 from all sources was 126 million euros. This made him the highest-paid sports star, according to Forbes. As of 2018, his weekly salary from Barcelona is $667,000 per week.

Biography of Lionel Messi, pictures of Lionel Messi, pictures of Lionel Messi and his children

Biography of Messi

Messi’s private life:

By modern football standards, Messi lives a relatively private and modest lifestyle. He tries to maintain his connection with his hometown Rosario. He has an Argentinian girlfriend, Antonella Roccoso, and they have two children. Her first child, Thiago, was born in November 2012.

Messi acts as a UNICEF ambassador and also runs his own charity foundation — supporting children’s access to education and sports. Because of his expensive treatment, he has also helped Argentine hospitals pay for similar treatments.

World Cup 2014:

Many commentators have declared that Lionel Messi has performed best in all competitions except the World Cup. In both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals when Messi was not at his best.

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is an opportunity for Messi to make an impact at the highest level. In the opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Messi scored a superb goal to give Argentina a winning start. He scored four goals to lead Argentina to the World Cup final. In the final, Argentina lost to Germany with a score of 1–0. Messi was awarded the Ballon d’Or as player of the tournament, although the decision was not universally supported. After the match, Messi replied:

I don’t care about the Ballon d’Or. I’m just sad about the wasted opportunities. We had the best situations. We knew we couldn’t dominate the game, but we knew what we wanted to do. I don’t care about my prize right now. I just wanted to lift the trophy and bring it to Argentina. The pain is too much.”

In June 2016, a very disappointed Messi announced his retirement from international football after missing a penalty to knock Argentina out of the Copa America final. However, Messi later changed his mind and said that he loves playing for Argentina too much and I see that there are many problems in Argentine football and I don’t intend to create another problem.

However, Messi returned to international football and led Argentina in the 2018 World Cup. Despite bearing the weight of a nation’s expectations, the World Cup was a huge disappointment. However, in the 2018/19 season, Messi returned to his usual brilliant performance at Barcelona.

Pictures of Lionel Messi and his children, Lionel Messi and his wife, Lionel Messi’s biography

How old is Messi?

World Cup 2022:

After a disappointing first game when Argentina unexpectedly lost to Saudi Arabia, Lionel Messi was the key to Argentina’s 2–0 win over Mexico, with Messi scoring a superb goal. If Messi has lost some of his speed and fitness level, he remains just as powerful in front of goal, with the capacity to contribute to match-winning goals. The goal took him to 8 World Cup goals, second overall and tied with Diego Maradona.

Lionel Messi’s return after the end of the 2022 World Cup:

After winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi and the players of the Argentina national football team arrived in Buenos Aires with the World Cup Cup.

Lionel Messi, Messi’s biography, Lionel Messi’s return after the end of the 2022 World Cup

Lionel Messi’s return after the end of the 2022 World Cup

Lionel Messi, Messi’s biography, the arrival of Messi and Argentina players to Buenos Aires with the World Cup Cup

The arrival of Messi and Argentina players with the World Cup Cup in Buenos Aires

Attendance and goals based on national team, year and competitions

Team of the year friendly competitive gathering

Plans, goals, plans, goals, plans, goals

Argentina under 20 years

2004 — 2 3 2 3

2005 16 11 — 16 11

Total 16 11 2 3 18 14

Argentina under 23 years

2008 5 2 — 5 2

Total 5 2 0 0 5 2

Argentina

2005 3 0 2 0 5 0

2006 3 1 4 1 7 2

2007 10 4 4 2 14 6

2008 6 1 2 1 8 2

2009 8 1 2 2 10 3

2010 5 0 5 2 10 2

2011 8 2 5 2 13 4

2012 5 5 4 7 9 12

2013 5 3 2 3 7 6

2014 7 4 7 4 14 8

2015 6

1 2 3 8 4

2016 10 8 1 0 11 8

2017 5 4 2 0 7 4

2018 4 1 1 3 5 4

2019 6 1 4 4 10 5

2020 4 1 0 0 4 1

2021 16 9 0 0 16 9

2022 10 8 4 10 14 18

Total 121 54 51 44 172 98

The whole career 142 67 53 47 195 119

Thank you for reading 🙏🏻

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