Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Messi playing for Barcelona |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Lionel Andrés Messi[1] |
| Date of birth |
(1987-06-24) 24 June 1987 (age 25)[1] |
| Place of birth |
Rosario, Argentina[1] |
| Height |
1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] |
| Playing position |
Forward |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Barcelona |
| Number |
10 |
| Youth career |
| 1995–2000 |
Newell's Old Boys |
| 2000–2003 |
Barcelona |
| Senior career* |
| Years |
Team |
Apps† |
(Gls)† |
| 2003–2004 |
Barcelona C |
10 |
(5) |
| 2004–2005 |
Barcelona B |
22 |
(10) |
| 2004– |
Barcelona |
237 |
(204) |
| National team‡ |
| 2004̣–2005 |
Argentina U20 |
16 |
(11) |
| 2007–2008 |
Argentina U23 |
5 |
(2) |
| 2005– |
Argentina |
77 |
(31) |
|
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:23, 10 February 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:30, 1 December 2012 (UTC) |
Lionel Andrés "
Leo"
Messi (
Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine
footballer who plays as a
forward for
La Liga club
FC Barcelona and the
Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team. By the age of 21, Messi had received
Ballon d'Or and
FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first
Ballon d'Or[2] and
FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural
FIFA Ballon d'Or in
2010,
[3] and again in
2011[4] and
2012.
[5] He also won the 2010–11
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions.
[6] At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200
La Liga goals.
[7][8]
Consistently rated by commentators, coaches and colleagues as the
best footballer in the world and as one of the greatest players in the
history of the game,
[9][10][11][12][13] Messi is the first football player in history to win four
FIFA/
Ballons d'Or, which he won consecutively. Messi has won five
La Ligas, two
Copas del Rey, five
Supercopas de España, three
Champions Leagues, two
Super Cups and two
Club World Cups. In March 2012, Messi made
UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, achieving the feat in a 7–1 win over
Bayer Leverkusen.
[14] He also matched
José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single
Champions League season.
[15] Messi became the first player to top-score in four successive Champions League campaigns.
[16][17] He set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.
[18] In the
same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single
La Liga season, scoring 50 goals.
[19]
Messi was the top scorer of the
2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the
FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the
Copa América tournament the following year, in which he was elected young player of the tournament.
[20] In
2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the
Argentina Olympic football team.
Sportspro has rated Lionel Messi as the third most marketable athlete in the world.
[21] His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot
Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".
[22]
Early life
Messi was born in
Rosario,
Santa Fe Province, to parents Jorge Horácio Messi, a factory steel worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner.
[23][24][25][26] His paternal family originates from the Italian city of
Ancona, from which his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883.
[27][28] He has two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and a sister, María Sol.
[29] At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge.
[30] In 1995, Messi switched to
Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario.
[30]
He became part of a local youth powerhouse that lost only one match in
the next four years and became locally known as "The Machine of '87",
from the year of their birth.
[31]
At the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with a
growth hormone deficiency.
[32] Local powerhouse
River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but were not willing to pay for treatment for his condition, which cost $900 a month.
[26] Carles Rexach, the sporting director of
FC Barcelona, had been made aware of his talent as Messi had relatives in
Lleida, and Messi and his father were able to arrange a trial with the team.
[26] Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered Messi a contract written on a paper napkin.
[33][34]
Barcelona offered to pay for Messi's medical bills if he was willing to
move to Spain. Messi and his father moved to Barcelona where Messi
enrolled in the
club's youth academy.
[30][34]
Club career
Barcelona
Messi played in Barcelona's junior Infantil B and Cadete B & A
teams from 2000 to 2003 (scoring 37 goals in 30 matches in Cadete A).
Season 2003–04 saw him on a record
[35]
five different teams: He started one match in Juvenil B (one goal) and
got promoted to Juvenil A (14 matches, 21 goals). Later he debuted for
FC Barcelona C team (
Tercera División) on 29 November 2003 and for
FC Barcelona B (
Segunda División B)
on 6 March 2004. He played for both teams during the season (ten
matches, five goals and five games, zero goals, respectively).
[36][37][38]
Even before these two debuts, Messi made his official debut for the
first-team on 16 November 2003 aged 16 years and 145 days, in a
friendly match against
Porto.
[40]
Less than a year after his start,
Frank Rijkaard gave him his league debut against
RCD Espanyol
on 16 October 2004 (at 17 years and 114 days), becoming the
third-youngest player ever to play for Barcelona and youngest club
player who played in La Liga, which would be broken by
Bojan Krkić in September 2007. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against
Albacete Balompié
on 1 May 2005, Messi was 17 years, ten months and seven days old,
becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for Barcelona
[41] until it was again broken by Bojan Krkić in 2007, scoring from a Messi assist.
[42]
Messi said about his ex-coach Rijkaard: "I'll never forget the fact
that he launched my career, that he had confidence in me while I was
only sixteen or seventeen."
[43] During the season, Messi played also in Barcelona B (
Segunda División B) scoring 6 goals in 17 matches.
"My record stood for 40 years - 85 goals in a year - and now the best
player in the world has broken it, and I'm delighted for him. He is an
incredible player, gigantic."
International career
Often referred to as an
Argentinian-
Spanish player, this crossover was brought into sharp focus when in 2004, Lionel was offered the chance to play for the
Spanish national U-20 team. He declined the offer given his Argentinian heritage, and was given the opportunity to play for
Argentina's U-20 team in a
friendly match against
Paraguay in June 2004.
[175] Messi scored once against Paraguay and twice in friendly against Uruguay in July 2004.
[176] In 2005 he was part of a team that finished third in
2005 South American Youth Championship in Colombia. He won the
2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands with the team and won the
Golden Ball and the
Golden Shoe,
[177] scoring in the last four of Argentina's matches and netting a total of six for the tournament.
He made his full international debut on 17 August 2005 against
Hungary at the age of 18. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was
sent off on the 65th minute because the referee,
Markus Merk, claimed that Messi had allegedly elbowed defender
Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious and
Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi was later reportedly found weeping in the changing rooms after the decision.
[178][179] Messi returned to the team on 3 September in Argentina's 1–0
World Cup qualifier away defeat to
Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-debut. The first one was a bit short."
[180] He then started his first game for Argentina against
Peru, in which he was able to win a crucial penalty for Argentina; after the match Pekerman described Messi as "a jewel".
[181] He scored his first goal for Argentina in a friendly match against
Croatia on 1 March 2006.
[182]
On 28 March 2009, in a World Cup Qualifier against
Venezuela,
Messi wore the number 10 jersey for the first time with Argentina. This
match was the first official match for Diego Maradona as the Argentina
manager. Argentina won the match 4–0 with Messi opening the scoring.
[183]
On 17 November 2010, Messi scored a
last-minute goal against South American rivals
Brazil after an individual effort to help his team to a 1–0 win in the
friendly match, which was held in
Doha. This was the first time that he had scored against Brazil at senior level.
[184] Messi scored another
last-minute goal on 9 February 2011 against
Portugal in a penalty kick which gave his side a 2–1 victory in the
friendly match, which was held in
Geneva, Switzerland. He had also previously assisted the first goal.
[185] His first hat-trick for
Albiceleste came against
Switzerland, on 29 February 2012 which the game ended 3–1 for
Argentina.
[186] On 9 June 2012, Messi scored his second international hat-trick in a friendly match against rivals
Brazil, including the match winner. The match ended 4–3 to Argentina and Messi was voted man of the match.
[187]
This brought his international goalscoring tally up to 26 goals in 70
matches, and brought his 2012 tally up to 7 goals in 3 matches. This was
also his record-breaking 82nd goal of the season, including all club
and international matches.
[188] These goals also made him the current fourth highest scorer for the
Argentinian National Team.
[189]
On 7 September, Messi scored his 28th goal for Argentina in a 3–1
victory against Paraguay in a World Cup Qualifying Match, sending them
to the top of the
CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying
table. This was his 4th goal in the current World Cup Qualifying
campaign and his 8th overall in World Cup Qualifying matches, making him
the third highest scorer for Argentina in World Cup Qualifying matches.
[190] This was also his 10th consecutive goal for Argentina in the last 6 matches and his 9th in 5 matches played in 2012.
[191]
Style of play
Messi, playing for Argentina in 2011, has been compared to compatriot
Diego Maradona
Messi has been compared to compatriot
Diego Maradona, due to their similar playing style and stature,
[218]
which gives him a lower centre of gravity than most players, allowing
him to be more agile and change direction more quickly, helping him to
evade tackles.
[219]
His short, strong legs allow him to excel in short bursts of
acceleration and his quick feet allow him to keep control of the ball
when dribbling at speed.
[220] His former
FC Barcelona manager,
Pep Guardiola, once stated: “Messi is the only player that runs faster with the ball than he does without it.”
[221] Like Maradona before him, Messi is dominantly a left footed player.
[222]
With the outside of his left foot, he usually begins dribbling runs,
whilst he uses the inside of his foot to finish and provide passes and
assists to team mates.
[219]
Messi often undertakes individual dribbling runs towards goal, in
particular during counterattacks, usually starting from the halfway
line, or the right side of the pitch, although he has also been
described as a versatile team player, with good vision, known for his
passing and his creative combinations, in particular with Barcelona team
mates
Xavi and
Iniesta.
[223][224][225] He is also an accurate set piece and penalty kick taker.
[226]
With regards to his dribbling ability, Maradona has said of Messi: "The
ball stays glued to his foot; I’ve seen great players in my career, but
I’ve never seen anyone with Messi's ball control."
[227] Maradona has stated that he believes Messi to currently be the greatest player in the world.
[228][229]
"Messi has his 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
aspect. But right now, he is the best."
Tactically, Messi plays a free
attacking and occasionally a
playmaking role,
[60] known for his finishing, pace, dribbling, balance, positioning, vision and passing ability.
[224][231] He is comfortable attacking on either wing or through the centre of the pitch.
[232] He began his career as a
left-winger and
forward, but was later moved onto the
right wing by former manager
Frank Rijkaard,
who noticed that from this position, Messi could cut through the
defence into the middle of the pitch more easily, allowing him to curl
shots on goal with his left foot, rather than predominantly crossing
balls for team mates.
[233] He has more recently played in a
false 9 role under Guardiola.
[234] This role is characterized by Messi's tendency to seemingly be playing as a
centre forward, or as a lone
striker,
although he will often run back into deep positions drawing defenders
with him, creating space for wingers, other forwards, and attacking
midfielders to make runs, allowing him to provide them with assists or
giving him space to begin dribbling runs, score goals or create
attacking plays.
[234] With the
Argentinian National team,
Messi usually plays anywhere along the front line. He began as a
forward or winger but has also played in a deeper role, in particular
under Maradona, in more of an
attacking midfield and
playmaking role.
[210][212][213] Messi revealed that he is a fan of the former Argentina playmaker
Pablo Aimar.
[235]
Personal life
Messi was at one stage romantically linked to Macarena Lemos, also from his hometown of
Rosario.
He is said to have been introduced to her by the girl's father when he
returned to Rosario to recover from his injury a few days before the
start of the
2006 World Cup.
[236][237] He has in the past also been linked to the Argentine
glamour model Luciana Salazar.
[238][239] In January 2009 he told "Hat Trick Barça", a programme on
Canal 33: "I have a girlfriend and she is living in Argentina. I am relaxed and happy".
[239] He was seen with the girl, Antonella Roccuzzo,
[240] at a carnival in
Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. Roccuzzo is a fellow native of Rosario.
[241]
On 2 June 2012, Messi assisted and scored a goal in Argentina's 4–0 win
against Ecuador in a World Cup 2014 Qualifying match. He celebrated
scoring his 23rd goal for Argentina, by placing the ball under his
jersey, as his girlfriend is reportedly 12 weeks pregnant. She posted on
Twitter that she is expected to give birth in September.
[242]
Messi confirmed that the child, a son, would be born in October, and
that he and his girlfriend plan to name him Thiago. However, the birth
would occur later than expected. On 2 November 2012, Messi became a
father for the first time following the birth of his son Thiago. The FC
Barcelona's official website briefly stated "Leo Messi is a father".
Besides, the Argentine striker added on his Facebook page: "Today I am
the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thanks to God for
this gift!"
[31][243] Messi has two cousins also involved in football:
Maxi, a winger for
Club Olimpia of Paraguay, and
Emanuel Biancucchi, who plays as a midfielder for Paraguay's
Independiente F.B.C..
[244][245]
According to American writer
Wright Thompson,
Messi has maintained close ties to Rosario and his family since leaving
for Spain, and has gone to great lengths to maintain them. These ties
begin with his speech—to this day, Messi speaks Spanish with the
distinctive accent of Rosario, even though he has now lived in Spain as
long as he has in Rosario. He also keeps in daily contact via phone and
text with a small group of confidants from Rosario, most of them fellow
members of "The Machine of '87". One time when he was in training with
the Argentina national team in Buenos Aires, he made a three-hour trip
by car to Rosario immediately after practice to have dinner with his
family, spent the night with them, and then returned to Buenos Aires the
next day in time for practice. Messi has also kept ownership of his old
house in Rosario, although his family no longer lives in it; he
maintains a penthouse apartment in an exclusive residential building in
which his mother lives, as well as a family compound just outside the
city.
[31]
Charity
In 2007, Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity
supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children.
[246][247]
In response to Messi's own childhood medical difficulties, the Leo
Messi Foundation has offered Argentine children diagnosed with illnesses
treatment in Spain and funds covering the transport, hospital and
recuperation costs.
[248] Messi's foundation is supported by his own fundraising activity with additional assistance from
Herbalife.
On 11 March 2010 Messi was announced as a
goodwill ambassador for
UNICEF.
[249]
Messi's UNICEF ambassador activities are aimed at supporting children’s
rights. Messi is supported in this by Barcelona, who also have a strong
association with UNICEF.
[250]
He and Newell's have also ended a long public feud. Messi funded the construction of a dormitory inside
Newell's stadium
for the club's youth academy, as well as a new gymnasium for the club.
For its part, Newell's has begun to embrace its ties with Messi, and
plans to issue a special club membership card to Messi's son.
[31]
Wealth
In March 2010,
France Football ranked him at the top of its list of the world's richest footballers, ahead of
David Beckham and
Cristiano Ronaldo, with £29.6 million (€33 million) in combined income from salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings.
[251][252] His net wealth is estimated at $110 millIon.
[253]
Media
An example of Messi's popularity and influence. Photographed in India.
Messi was featured on the front covers of the video games
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 and
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and is also involved in promotional campaigns for the games.
[254][255] Messi, along with
Fernando Torres,
[256] is the face of
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, and was also involved in the
motion capturing and the
trailer.
[257][258][259]
However, in November 2011 Messi was confirmed as the new face of PES's
rival football series FIFA with his debut as a cover star of the series
coming in 2012's
FIFA Street. Messi was also chosen to be on the cover of
FIFA 13.
[260] Messi is sponsored by the German sportswear company
Adidas and features in their television advertisements.
[261] In June 2010, Messi also signed a three–year contract with Herbalife
[262] which further supports the Leo Messi Foundation.
Messi was named twice in the
Time 100, the magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world, respectively in 2011
[263] and in 2012.
[264]
Also in April 2011, Messi launched a Facebook page and within a few
hours, his page had attracted more than six million followers. His
Facebook page had over 33 million followers in March 2012.
[265]
