Lionel Messi

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"Messi" redirects here. For other uses, see Messi (disambiguation).
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Messi and the second
or maternal family name is Cuccittini.

Lionel Messi

Messi with Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Personal information

Full name Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini[1]

Date of birth 24 June 1987 (age 32)[2]

Place of birth Rosario, Argentina

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[3]

Playing position Forward

 Club information

Current team Barcelona

Number 10

Youth career

1994–2000 Newell's Old Boys

2001–2004 Barcelona

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2003–2004 Barcelona C 10 (5)

2004–2005 Barcelona B 22 (6)

2004– Barcelona 460 (427)

National team‡

2004–2005 Argentina U20 18 (14)

2008 Argentina U23 5[α] (2)

2005– Argentina 138 (70)

Honours[show]

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league
only and correct as of 23 November 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2019
 This article is part of a series
about
Lionel Messi

Argentine professional footballer

 International goals
 Career achievements
 Comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo

Eponym

 Messi (cougar)

Films

 Messi (2014)
 Messi (2017)

 v
 t
 e

Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini[note 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾez ˈmesi] ( listen);[A] born 24
June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both
Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the
world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record
six FIFA Ballon d'or/Best FIFA Men's Player awards,[note 2] and a record six European Golden Shoes.
He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won a club-record 34
trophies, including ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and six Copas del Rey. A
prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La
Liga (427), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions
League (8), and most assists in La Liga (173) and the Copa América (13). He has scored over 700
senior career goals for club and country.
Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a
child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical
treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelona's youth academy, Messi made his competitive
debut aged 17 in October 2004. Despite being injury-prone during his early career, he established
himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, finishing 2007 as a finalist for
both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, a feat he repeated the following year.
His first uninterrupted season was 2008–09, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the
first treble in Spanish football. At 22 years old, Messi won the 2009 Ballon d'Or and the 2009 FIFA
World Player of the Year award by record voting margins. Three successful seasons followed, with
Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons d'Or, including an unprecedented fourth. During
the 2011–12 season, he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single
season, while establishing himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer in official competitions in March
2012. The following two seasons, Messi finished twice second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano
Ronaldo, his perceived career rival. Messi regained his best form during the 2014–15 campaign,
breaking the all-time goalscoring records in both La Liga and the Champions League in November
2014,[note 3] and leading Barcelona to a historic second treble.