Background Information
Born on June 24, 1987, Lionel Andrés “Leo” Messi is a professional football player from Argentina who plays forward for Inter Miami of the Major League Soccer league and captains the Argentina national team. Many people consider Lionel Messi to be one of the best players in history. He set many records for individual honours during his professional football career, including eight Ballons d’Or, six European Golden Shoes, and eight FIFA World Player of the Year awards. With 45 team trophies, he is the most decorated player in professional football history.
Lionel Messi holds the following records: most goals in a calendar year (91), most goals for a single club (672 for Barcelona), La Liga goals (474), FIFA World Cup goals (21), and Copa América goals (32). Messi has over 870 senior career goals and over 380 assists for both club and country. He is a prolific goal scorer and inventive playmaker.
At the age of 17, Messi made his Barcelona competitive debut in October 2004. He steadily made a name for himself as a key member of the team, and in 2008–09, his first season without injury, he assisted Barcelona in winning the first treble in Spanish football history.
Messi won the first of four straight Ballon d’Ors as a consequence, and by the 2011–12 season, he had become Barcelona’s all-time best scorer and set the European record for most goals in a season. He led Barcelona to a historic second triple in the 2014–15 season, which made him the all-time best scorer in La Liga. In 2015, he won his fifth Ballon d’Or. In 2018, he took over as Barcelona’s captain, and in 2019, he achieved a record sixth Ballon d’Or. Messi set a club record with 34 trophies when he was at Barcelona, including four Champions Leagues and ten La Liga crowns.
Financial troubles at Barcelona forced him to sign with Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, where he won the Ligue 1 championship both seasons. In July 2023, he joined Inter Miami, an MLS team.
Messi is the most-capped player and all-time top scorer for the Argentine national team. He took home the gold medal from the 2008 Summer Olympics, a few years after making his senior debut in 2005. When he took over as captain in 2011, he guided Argentina to three straight finals—losing the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa América, and the Copa América Centenario. He came back to assist his team barely qualify for the 2018 World Cup after first declaring his retirement from international competition in 2016.
Messi won the 2021 Copa América, which helped him win his seventh Ballon d’Or that year and put an end to Argentina’s 28-year trophy drought. The following year, he guided Argentina to its first World Cup victory in 36 years, the 2022 tournament. A record-breaking eighth Ballon d’Or in 2023 came next. Messi won his third major international championship at the 2024 Copa América.
Since 2006, Messi has promoted Adidas, a sportswear brand. He was the highest-paid football player in the world for five of the six years between 2009 and 2014, according to France Football, and Forbes named him the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2019 and 2022. In 2011, 2012, and 2023, Messi was listed as one of Time’s 100 most influential people worldwide.
He became the first team-sport athlete to win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in 2020 and 2023. Messi became the second football player and the second team-sport athlete to earn over $1 billion in his career in 2020, and he was selected for the Ballon d’Or Dream Team. Messi received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Joe Biden in 2025 after being awarded Time’s Athlete of the Year in 2023 for his arrival and influence on American football.
Early Life
On June 24, 1987, Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province. His parents were Jorge Messi, a manager of a steel industry, and Celia Cuccittini, a worker at a company that made magnets. He was the third of their four children. His mother’s family is predominantly Italian, while his father’s side is Italian and Spanish. He is the great-grandson of immigrants from the north-central Adriatic Marche area of Italy. “Leo” grew up in a close-knit family that loved football, and he played the game all the time with his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, as well as his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, who both went on to play professional football.
He joined the neighborhood club Grandoli when he was four years old, receiving coaching from his father. Celia, his maternal grandmother, was another early influence; she accompanied him to practices and games. Shortly before his eleventh birthday, she passed away, which had a profound impact on him. As a devoted Catholic, he has since honoured his grandmother by looking up and pointing to the sky as he celebrates his accomplishments.
Career
Youth
Newell’s Old Boys
Lionel Messi has always been a fan of Rosario-based Newell’s Old Boys. He began performing with Newell’s at the age of seven. He was a member of “The Machine of ’87,” a young team dubbed after the year of their formation, and scored close to 500 goals in his six years with them. Messi would frequently dazzle audiences with his ball wizardry during halftime when the first squad was playing at home. Growing up, Messi referred to Brazilian forward Ronaldo as “the best forward I’ve ever seen” since he admired him for scoring goals.
He was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of ten, endangering his chances of becoming a professional athlete. He started growth hormone treatment when he was eleven years old, but only two years of the therapy—which cost at least 1,000 pesos a month—were covered by his father’s health insurance. Newell’s promised to help, but they later broke their word. River Plate of Buenos Aires, whose playmaker Pablo Aimar he admired, scouted him. For a while, it was thought that his poor health was the reason he didn’t sign with River Plate.
However, in a 2019 interview, Messi disclosed that River Plate had expressed interest in signing him following his four goals during a trial and even offered to cover his medical bills. However, Newell’s refused to release his player card, which prevented the transfer.
Barcelona
The Messi family tried to set up a trial with Barcelona in September 2000 because they have relations in Catalonia. Carles Rexach, the first team director, wanted to sign him right away, but the board of directors was hesitant because, at the time, it was quite uncommon for European clubs to sign young foreign players. With no other material available, Rexach made a contract offer on a paper napkin after Barcelona was given till December 14th to demonstrate their commitment. The family moved to Barcelona in February 2001 and settled into an apartment close to Camp Nou, the team’s stadium.
Due to a transfer dispute with Newell’s, Messi played with the Infantiles very little during his first season in Spain; as a foreign player, he was only allowed to participate in friendlies and the Catalan league. He found it difficult to fit in with the team without football. He was quiet by nature, to the point where some of his teammates thought he was mute. After his mother moved back to Rosario with his brothers and younger sister, María Sol, and he remained in Barcelona with his father, he experienced longing at home.
After a year at Barcelona’s junior program, La Masia, Messi was ultimately enrolled with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in February 2002. He was able to play in every competition now, and he quickly made friends with his teammates, including Gerard Piqué and Cesc Fàbregas. Messi was a key member of Barcelona’s best youth team ever, the “Baby Dream Team,” after finishing growth hormone treatment at the age of 14. He scored 36 goals in 30 games during his debut season (2002–03), leading the Cadetes A to an unprecedented league, Copa Catalunya, and Spanish cup treble. In club legend, their 4-1 triumph against Espanyol in the Copa Catalunya final is known as the partido de la máscara, or the final of the mask.
Messi was permitted to play a week after breaking his cheekbone in a league game, but only if he wore a plastic protection. The mask quickly got in the way, so he removed it and scored two goals in the ten minutes before being substituted. He got his first offer from a foreign team at the end of the season: to join Arsenal. Messi decided to stay in Barcelona even though Fàbregas and Piqué soon left for England with their own offers.
He made his debut for four youth teams in the 2003–04 season as he continued to rise quickly through his club’s tiers. He played just one official game with the Juvenil B before being promoted to the Juvenil A, despite winning player of the tournament in four different international preseason events. He scored 18 goals in 11 league games in the Juvenil A. During the international break, Messi was then called up along with a number of other young players to bolster a first team that was severely thinned out. During a training session with Frank Rijkaard’s first team, Messi captured everyone’s attention, according to French winger Ludovic Giuly: “He destroyed us all… He simply got up and continued playing while they kicked him everywhere to keep him from being made fun of by this child. He would score a goal by dribbling past four opponents. Even the starting center-backs for the club were anxious. He was not from Earth.
Messi made his first-team debut on November 16, 2003, at the age of 16 years, 4 months, and 23 days, when he entered the game in the 75th minute of a friendly match against José Mourinho’s Porto. The technical staff was thrilled with his performance, which included two chances and a shot on goal. As a result, he started training every day with Barcelona B, the club’s reserve team, in addition to once a week with the first squad. Ronaldinho, Barça’s new star player, informed his teammates after the 16-year-old’s first practice with the senior team that he thought the player would surpass him in skill. Ronaldinho dubbed Messi his “little brother,” and they quickly became friends. Messi’s transition to the first team was considerably facilitated by this.
He joined Barcelona C in addition to the Juvenil A in order to get more match experience; on November 29, he made his debut for the third squad. He scored five goals in ten games, including a hat-trick in eight minutes during a Copa del Rey encounter while being man-marked by Sergio Ramos of Sevilla, and helped keep them out of the Tercera División’s relegation zone. His first professional contract, signed on February 4, 2004, which ran until 2012 and included an initial €30 million buyout provision, underlined his growth. His buyout clause automatically increased to €80 million when he made his Barcelona B debut in the Segunda División B on March 6, a month later.
He did not score in his five games with the B team that season. He worked on building up his muscular mass and general strength during training because he was physically weaker than his opponents, who were frequently taller and considerably older. This would help him shake off defenders. In the latter part of the season, he rejoined both young teams and helped the Juvenil B team win the league. By the end of the season, he had scored goals for four of his five teams and 36 goals overall across all official tournaments.
Senior Team
Messi started the 2004–05 season as a sure starter for Barcelona B, but manager Frank Rijkaard moved him up to the first squad after some pleading from the veteran players. On October 16, 2004, he made his La Liga debut for Barcelona against Espanyol. On May 1, 2005, he scored his first senior goal against Albacete, assisted by Ronaldinho, making him the club’s youngest-ever scorer at the time. Barcelona won the league title that season, and he was the youngest player to play for the team in an official competition at the age of 17 years, 3 months, and 22 days.
He signed his first senior team deal on his eighteenth birthday, which was for five years until 2010 with a €150 million release clause. After three months, his contract was extended to a nine-year deal, which doubled his compensation and kept him with the team until 2014 as his play continued to get attention.
Despite Messi’s exclusion from the competition, Barcelona won the Supercopa de España to start the 2005–06 season. The squad won both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League at the end of the season, albeit Messi was injured and missed the latter’s final.
Messi became the first player to score a hat-trick in a Clásico against Real Madrid in twelve years during the 2006–07 season. Messi’s extremely skillful goal against Getafe and another goal from a handball against Espanyol attracted attention because they resembled the two iconic goals scored by fellow Argentine Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup match against England. This led to comparisons between the two teams Messi would play against throughout his career. The 2006 Supercopa de España was the team’s only prize at the end of the season.
Rijkaard left Barcelona after the team concluded the 2007–08 season without winning any trophies.
Messi was assigned the number 10 shirt at the start of the 2008–09 season, which was his first under Barcelona’s new manager, former captain Pep Guardiola. He eventually rose to prominence as Guardiola’s possession-based system’s tactical focal point, which improved his goal-scoring efficiency. Messi scored 38 goals in all during that season, and he, Samuel Eto’o, and Thierry Henry helped the team reach a record of 100 goals in all competitions. At Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Messi made his Clásico debut as a false nine, scoring twice in the team’s greatest-ever score and setting up his team’s first goal. He participated in and won the Copa del Rey in his first final. Barcelona also achieved the first-ever treble in Spanish football history by winning La Liga and then the Champions League.
Barcelona became the first club to achieve the sextuple by winning the FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Supercopa de España in the first half of the 2009–10 season. Lionel Messi, the youngest player in the history of the Champions League, finished as the league’s top scorer. Messi won the FIFA World Player of the Year title and the Ballon d’Or for his efforts in 2009. Messi tied Ronaldo’s club record from the 1996–97 season with 47 goals overall across all competitions. He won his second straight league trophy, finishing the season as the top scorer in both La Liga and the Champions League, and was awarded his first European Golden Shoe. He agreed to a new seven-year contract through 2016 after the team won the Champions League.
Messi won the Supercopa de España, the Champions League, and La Liga for the third time in a row in the 2010–11 season. In 2010, he won his second consecutive Ballon d’Or for his club performances. This was Messi’s third consecutive year as the league’s top scorer and assist provider in the Champions League. With 53 goals, he became Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer in a single season.
On November 25, 2017, Messi signed his eighth contract with Barcelona, extending his stay with the team until 2021. Messi won La Liga and the Copa del Rey again in the 2017–18 season, completing the domestic double. With 34 goals, he finished the season as La Liga’s leading scorer once more and was awarded his sixth European Golden Shoe. Messi was chosen as the team’s new captain for the 2018–19 campaign after former captain Andrés Iniesta left in May 2018. After Barcelona defeated Sevilla 2-1, he raised the Supercopa de España, his first trophy as captain.
In his eleventh but first season as captain, he assisted Barcelona in winning La Liga. He tied Zarra for the most La Liga top-scorer trophies with 36 goals in 34 games that season, earning him his sixth league Golden Boot medal. In addition, he won his sixth Golden Shoe, his third straight since the 2016–17 campaign.
Although Lionel Messi would go on to win his sixth Ballon d’Or, Barcelona went trophyless for the first time since 2007–08 in the 2019–20 season. Barcelona claimed that Messi submitted the team “a document expressing his desire to leave” after a lackluster season, but Messi ultimately chose to play out the last year of his contract.
Messi broke Xavi’s record in the 2020–21 season, making 768 appearances for the club. The team would win the Copa del Rey final in 2021 under his leadership. He set a record of eight Pichichi awards during his final two seasons with Barcelona, leading La Liga in goal scoring.
Messi’s contract expired, making him a free agent. Barcelona’s financial problems made it difficult to negotiate a new contract. Eventually, Barcelona would declare that Lionel Messi would not be continuing with the team, pointing to structural and financial challenges brought on by La Liga rules as the cause of Messi’s departure. Messi announced his departure from Barcelona during a sad press conference at Camp Nou.
Paris Saint-Germain
Reunited with Neymar, Messi signed a two-year contract with Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on August 10, 2021, for the 2021–22 campaign, with an additional year’s option. Lionel Messi selected the squad number 30, which he wore when he made his Barcelona senior debut as a teenager. He would then play his first game for the team against Reims, his first start and Champions League debut against Club Brugge, and his first game at home against Lyon. In a Champions League group stage victory over former manager Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, he scored his first goal for the team.
Messi won a record seventh Ballon d’Or after leading Argentina to the 2021 Copa América and scoring 40 goals for his club and country over the calendar year. With 11 goals and 14 assists in all competitions at the end of his rookie campaign, he helped PSG win their tenth Ligue 1 championship.
Lionel Messi would win his second trophy with PSG in the Trophée des Champions at the start of the 2022–2023 season. He surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer in European club football with 702 goals after scoring one against Nice. He also reached 1,000 career direct goal contributions at club level during the game.
He finished the season with 21 goals overall and 16 assists, the most in the league, helping PSG win their 11th Ligue 1 championship and his second consecutive. Messi’s departure from PSG was announced two days after manager Christophe Galtier declared after the season’s final match that it would be his final game with the team.
Inter Miami
On July 15, 2023, Inter Miami CF, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team, revealed that Messi had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. In a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul, Messi made his club debut in 2023, winning with a free kick in stoppage time. Messi assumed the role of Inter Miami captain after former captain DeAndre Yedlin handed him his armband. Both on and off the field, Messi’s entrance in the US was hailed as a revelation, and his presence was given credit for helping to increase MLS’s visibility both domestically and internationally. As reported by Goal, “Every game that he graces sparks a scramble for tickets, with plenty of A-list guests eager to watch him in action”. Inter Miami’s No. 10 Messi shirt became the best-selling jersey in the league and almost the entire world as a result of the “Messimania” that surrounded his arrival.
Messi led Miami to their first-ever championship after he scored nine goals in his first six games with the team, which defeated Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup final. Against the New York Red Bulls, Messi made his Major League Soccer debut. After going winless in their last seven games, Miami finished 14th in the Eastern Conference and would miss the playoffs. Messi received a record-tying eighth Ballon d’Or on October 30, 2023, after winning the Ligue 1 trophy with PSG and the World Cup with Argentina. In addition, he became the first football player to ever win Time Athlete of the Year.
In a 6–2 victory over the New York Red Bulls during the 2024 season, Messi broke the records for the most assists in a single MLS game (five) and the most goal contributions in an MLS game (six). Messi won the Supporters’ Shield, his 46th title, on October 2nd, when he scored two goals in a 3–2 victory over the Columbus Crew. Messi scored his first hat-trick for the team in a 6–2 victory over the New England Revolution on October 19, the last game of the regular season.
With their victory over the Revolution, Inter Miami also set a league record for MLS by finishing the regular season with 74 points. In 19 games, he would end the regular season with 20 goals and 16 assists. He became Inter Miami’s all-time leading scorer in the process.
In the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, Miami made its first postseason appearance but lost two games against Atlanta United and was eliminated in the first round. In the third game, a 3–2 loss, Messi would score his first goal of the postseason. After the regular season ended, he would be named the MLS Most Valuable Player.
Messi became the fastest player in league history to reach 40 goals during the 2025 campaign. He appeared in an Apple TV Super Bowl commercial for their exclusive coverage of Major League Soccer. Following the new Miami stadium’s opening in April, he was reportedly negotiating a one-year contract extension through the end of the 2026 season.
International Career
Lionel Messi was qualified to play for both the Spanish and Argentine national teams because he was a dual citizen. He made his debut for Argentina in 2004 when the U20 team played Paraguay. He was later added to the squad for the South American U-20 Championship in 2005, when Argentina would place third. The team would go on to win the FIFA World Youth Championship in 2005, Messi’s first triumph with Argentina. He would win the Golden Ball after finishing the tournament with six goals and two assists.
At the age of 18, Messi would make his senior national team debut in 2005, playing in a friendly match against Hungary off the bench. In 2006, Lionel Messi would make his debut against Peru and score his first goal for his country in a friendly match against Croatia. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he made his debut by substituting in the 74th minute against Serbia and Montenegro, where he assisted on one goal and scored the game-winning goal. He became the youngest player to play for Argentina in the World Cup and score a goal. He would play for Argentina once again in the 2007 Copa América, which they lost in the championship match.
Lionel Messi, who had two goals and one assist, was voted the tournament’s best young player. He led Argentina’s U23 team to victory over Nigeria in the 2008 Summer Olympics, marking yet another significant accomplishment for his nation. Messi finished with two goals and three assists, and FIFA named him the best player on the top team in the tournament.
He scored twice in the final to help Argentina defeat France at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, their first World Cup win in 36 years. During the tournament, Lionel Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists, making him the first player to win the Golden Ball twice. In addition to setting new marks for the most appearances (26) and direct goal contributions (21–13 goals and 8 assists) at the World Cup, his appearance in the final also created new records.
With a hat-trick in a friendly match against Curaçao in 2023, Messi became the third player and the first South American to reach 100 goals for his country.
Messi became the all-time leading scorer in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying later that year after scoring two goals against Peru. Lionel Messi became the second-highest international goalscorer of all time after he scored his first and lone goal of the 2024 Copa América semi-final match against Canada. Messi set a new record for the most appearances (39) in Copa América and contributed one goal and one assist overall as Argentina defeated Colombia in the final to win the Copa América for the second time in a row.
The Reception
Along with Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi is considered by many to be one of the two greatest players of his generation. In addition, he is regarded as one of the best football players in history.
Messi was one of the best players in the world before the age of 20, having shown incredible potential as a teenager. He said of his 18-year-old protégé, “I’m not even the best at Barça,” shortly after teammate Ronaldinho won the 2005 Ballon d’Or. After Messi won his first Ballon d’Or by a record margin four years later, the public’s discussion of his skill level shifted from his standing in modern football to the idea that he might be among the greatest players in history.
Messi’s then-Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola was an early supporter, stating in August 2009 that Messi was the best player he had ever seen. This viewpoint was more widely accepted by commentators, managers, and both current and former players in the next years. By the end of Barça’s second treble-winning season, many fans and commentators in continental Europe seemed to agree that Messi was one of the best football players of all time.
Throughout his career, Messi would be dismissed by doubters because he had failed to win an international event with Argentina at the senior level. However, Messi’s legacy was solidified by his subsequent triumphs in the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which led to him ultimately collecting every top tier trophy at the club and national levels.
Marital Status
He began dating Antonela Roccuzzo in 2008, and the two eventually got married in their hometown of Rosario on June 30, 2017. He has known Roccuzzo since he was five years old because she is the cousin of his best buddy from childhood, football player Lucas Scaglia. during a year of secrecy, Lionel Messi initially revealed their relationship in an interview in January 2009 before making their public debut a month later at a fiesta in Sitges during the Barcelona–Espanyol rivalry.
Roccuzzo and Messi are parents to three sons. After scoring in Argentina’s 4-0 victory against Ecuador on June 2, 2012, Messi put the ball beneath his shirt to celebrate his partner’s first pregnancy. Two weeks later, he confirmed the pregnancy in an interview. Thiago was born on November 2, 2012, in Barcelona. Lionel Messi announced that they were expecting a second child in April 2015. His wife revealed they were expecting their third child in October 2017.
Faith
Lionel Messi is known to be a Christian, more precisely a Catholic, even if he rarely discusses his faith in public.
In honor of his late grandmother, who had a significant impact on his early football career and was also a Catholic, he frequently looks up and points to the sky when he celebrates his goals, according to Wikipedia.
Net Worth
For five of the six years between 2009 and 2014, Lionel Messi was the highest-paid football player in the world. He was the first to earn more than €40 million, getting €41 million in 2013, and the first to earn between €50 and €60 million, earning €65 million in 2014. With a salary and endorsement revenue of $81 million in 2015–16, Messi ranked second on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes in the world, behind Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2018, he earned €126 million ($154 million) in total revenue from salaries, bonuses, and endorsements, making him the first player to surpass the €100 million mark in a single calendar year.
In 2019, Forbes named him the highest-paid athlete in the world. He was Barcelona’s highest-paid player starting in 2008, and over the next five years, his income rose gradually from €7.8 million to €13 million. When he signed a new deal in 2017, Barcelona gave him a $60 million signing bonus in addition to his weekly salary of $667,000. $835 million (€700 million) was the amount of his buyout clause. After Ronaldo, Messi became the second football player and the second athlete in a team sport to earn over $1 billion in their careers in 2020.
Lionel Messi signed a contract with Inter Miami that included a $12 million base pay and a $20.4 million guaranteed income for the 2023 campaign. He was also expected to receive extra money via shirt sales, MLS Season Pass subscriptions, and a share in the team.
