Lionel Messi

Born

June 24, 1987 · Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina

Birth name

Lionel Andrés Messi

Birth name

Lionel Andrés Messi

Height

5′ 6¾″ (1.69 m)

Lionel Messi is a football player from Argentina who plays for FC Barcelona. He has won the Ballon D’Or, the annual award given to the best player in the world, 7 times, 2022 FIFA World Cup winner and an Olympic gold medal winner in 2008. He was born in 1987 in Rosario, Argentina’s third-biggest city. He showed an enormous aptitude for football and was in the youth teams for Newell’s Old Boys, his local team. Faced with mounting medical expenses to treat a growth hormone condition, Messi’s family accepted an offer to move the 13-year-old prodigy to FC Barcelona, who would pay for his treatment. Messi has gone on to become one of the most decorated players in football history and has broken countless records for his club and his country.

Spouse

Antonella Roccuzzo(June 30, 2017 — present) (3 children)

Children

Thiago Messi

Mateo Messi

Ciro Messi

Parents

Jorge Horacio Messi

Celia Cuccittini

• Won 7 Ballon d’Or/FIFA Ballon d’Or (2009–2012, 2015, 2019, 2021), the FIFA World Player of the Year (2009) and The Best FIFA Men’s Player (2019).
• Won the gold medal with Argentina Olympic Football Team at the 2008 Olympic Games.
• Father of, with Antonella Roccuzzo, Thiago Messi (b. November 2012), Mateo Messi (b. September 2015) and Ciro Messi (b. March 2018).
• Won the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup with Argentina National Under-20 Football Team. He was the leading scorer and the best player of the competition.
• Is the second Argentine to win a Ballon d’Or. The first being Alfredo Di Stéfano.
• 778 appearances for FC Barcelona (2004–2021); scored 672 goals.
• Made his La Liga debut against the R.C.D. Espanyol on 16 October 2004 at the age 16.
• International with Argentina National Football Team since 2005. Member of the Copa América 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, and the Germany ’06, South Africa ’10, Brazil ’14 and Russia ’18 squads.
• Won the Pichichi Trophy seven times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017–2020).
• World Soccer Young Player of the Year: 2006, 2007 and 2008.
• Moved to Spain at the age 13.
• Named in the ‘FIFA FIFPro World11’ fourteen times (2007–2020).
• Very friend of Sergio Agüero.
• (November 22, 2014) La Liga’s all-time top scorer.
• Won the Trofeo EFE as the best Ibero-American in La Liga six times (2007, 2009–2013).
• Has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.[March 2010].
• Member of the Argentina National team who finished runners-up of the Copa América (2007, 2015, 2016) and the FIFA World Cup (2014).
• Scored goals at the final matches of the Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, Spanish Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
• Won the UEFA Men Player of the Year Award two times (2011 and 2015).
• Golden Boot of the UEFA Champions League x6 (2009–2012, 2015, 2019); Copa del Rey x5 (2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017); La Liga x8 (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017–2021); Copa América (2021).
• 2012: Guinness World Record as top goalscorer for club and country with 91 goals.
• IFFHS World’s Top Scorer: 2011 and 2012.
• (March 16, 2014) FC Barcelona’s all-time top scorer.
• Golden Ball at the FIFA Club World Cup (2009, 2011), FIFA World Cup (2014, 2022) and Copa América (2015, 2021).
• Honours with FC Barcelona: 10 La Liga (2005, 2006, 2009–2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019); 7 Copa del Rey (2009, 2012, 2015–2018, 2021); 7 Spanish Super Cup (2006, 2009–2011, 2013, 2016, 2018); 4 UEFA Champions League (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015); 3 UEFA Super Cup (2009, 2011, 2015); 3 FIFA Club World Cup (2009, 2011, 2015). Honours with Paris Saint-Germain: Ligue 1 (2022).
• Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving family, Messi developed a passion for the sport from an early age, playing constantly with his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom became professional footballers.
• Twelve-time Argentine Footballer of the Year (aka Olimpia de Plata); Argentine Sportsperson of the Year (aka Olimpia de Oro) in 2011.
• Named in the UEFA Team of the Year eleven times (2008–2012, 2014–2019).
• European Golden Shoe x6 (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017–2019).
• Won the treble with FC Barcelona (La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League) two times in 2009 and 2015.
• Captain of the Argentina National Football Team (since 2011) and FC Barcelona (2018–2021).
• Named in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020.
• Won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in 2020.
• Named The Best Man CONMEBOL Player of the Decade 2011–2020 by IFFHS.
• Led Argentina National Football Team to win the 2021 Copa América at Maracanã Stadium (their first title since 1993), the 2022 CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions at Wembley Stadium and the 2022 FIFA World Cup (their first world title since 1986) at Qatar.
• Is the La Liga’s top goalscorer (474) and top assist provider (192) in 520 games.
• Man of the Match of the finals: UEFA Champions League (2011), FIFA Club World Cup (2009, 2011) and Finalissima (2022).
• Named in the IFFHS Men’s CONMEBOL Team of the Year in 2021.
• Onze d’Or: 2009, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2017–18.
• World Soccer Player of the Year: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019.
• Nelson Mandela Trophy: 2018.
• Globe Soccer Awards Best Player of the Year: 2015.
• L’Équipe International Athlete of the Year: 2011.
• Shortlisted for Golden Foot: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021.
• The Guardian Best Footballer In The World: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019.
• Marca Leyenda: 2009.
• Best International Athlete ESPY Award: 2012, 2015, 2019.
• ESPY Awards International Footballer of the Year: 2019.
• Most official goals for a single club: 672, for Barcelona.
• Guinness World Record for top goalscorer for club and country in a calendar year (official goals): 91 goals in 2012.
• Most trophies won with a single club: 35, with Barcelona.
• Most goals scored in a domestic league: 474, in La Liga.
• Most goals scored in a domestic league in a single season: 50 in 2011–12.
• Most goals in all club competitions in a calendar year: 79 in 2012.
• Most assists provided in a domestic league: 192, in La Liga.
• Sometimes you have to accept you can’t win all the time.
• There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game.
• You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it.
• You have to show up in the World Cup, and in the World Cup anything can happen.
• I always thought I wanted to play professionally, and I always knew that to do that I’d have to make a lot of sacrifices. 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 prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else. I’m more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When all this is over, what are you left with? When I retire, I hope I am remembered for being a decent guy.
• What I do is play soccer, which is what I like.
• I repeat what I always say: I want the best for Argentina in every way. I never try to make trouble for anybody.
• There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a happy and smiling child. I always help in any way I can, even if it’s just by signing an autograph. A child’s smile is worth more than all the money in the world.
• I’m lucky to be part of a team who help to make me look good, and they deserve as much of the credit for my success as I do for the hard work we have all put in on the training ground.
• The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player.
• I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I’m not enjoying it, I will leave football.
• I want to concentrate on winning things with Barcelona and Argentina. Then if people want to say nice things about me when I have retired, great. Right now, I need to concentrate on being part of a team — not just on me.
• I have many years to get better and better, and that has to be my ambition. The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player.
• The truth is my idea has been to always stay at Barcelona and see out the rest of my career here. Like I always say, one doesn’t know what can happen in the future, but if it were up to me to decide, I would stay at Barcelona for the rest of my career.
• It’s scoring goals that’s great, whether against Brazil or anybody else.
• Being named among the best at something is special and beautiful. But if there are no titles, nothing is won.
• Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn’t thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I’m just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn’t paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing.
• The truth is that I don’t have a favourite goal. I remember important goals more than I do favourite goals, like goals in the Champions League where I had the opportunity to have scored in both finals I have played in. Finals in the World Cup or Copa del Rey are the ones that have stayed with me for longer or that I remember more.
• In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision.
• It seems like people want to blame me for everything. Whenever any issue arises, I’m said to have been involved even if I’ve had nothing to do with it. That’s why I always focus on what I know, which is playing football, and try to be very careful with what I say because people always try and twist things.
• Like I’ve said many times before, I’m always more likely to remember goals for their importance rather than if they’re beautiful or not. Goals scored in finals, for example.
• You cannot allow your desire to be a winner to be diminished by achieving success before and I believe there is room for improvement in every sportsman.
• 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.
• When the year starts the objective is to win it all with the team, personal records are secondary.
• For my part, I try to do my bit to make people’s lives more bearable, in particular children across the globe who are having problems.
• 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. Barcelona is my home because both the club and the people here have given me everything, but I won’t stop being Argentine.
• On a personal note, I think it won’t be until after I’ve retired that I’m fully aware of what I’ve done or what I’ve gone on to achieve in my career.
• 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.
• I’ve always really just liked football, and I’ve always devoted a lot of time to it. When I was a kid, my friends would call me to go out with them, but I would stay home because I had practice the next day.
• We will not take Arsenal lightly for one minute, as they showed in the two matches against us last season that they can be dangerous opponents if we lose our concentration for a moment.
• Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thanks to God for this gift.
• Every year I try to grow as a player and not get stuck in a rut. I try to improve my game in every way possible. But that trait is not something I’ve worked on, it’s part of me.
• I never think about the play or visualize anything. I do what comes to me at that moment. Instinct. It has always been that way.
• 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.
• Nah, I’ve always had a great relationship with my two brothers, I have always had their support in my football and in everything. They’ve been very close to me and we have a great relationship.
• It’s not so easy for us when we play teams who have a different mindset, like Chelsea or Inter Milan, because they have the intention of trying to stop us rather than playing a game that is more attractive for the spectators to enjoy.
• I’ve always really just liked football, and I’ve always devoted a lot of time to it. When I was a kid, my friends would call me to go out with them, but I would stay home because I had practice the next day. I like going out, but you have to know when you can and when you can’t.