"Messi" redirects here. For other uses, see Messi (disambiguation).

Lionel Messi

Messi with Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Personal information

Full name Lionel Andrés Messi[1]

Date of birth 24 June 1987 (age 37)[1]

Place of birth Rosario, Argentina

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]

Position(s) Forward

Team information

Current team Inter Miami

Number 10

Youth career
1992–1995 Grandoli

1995–2000 Newell's Old Boys

2000–2004 Barcelona

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2003–2004 Barcelona C 10 (5)

2004–2005 Barcelona B 22 (6)

2004–2021 Barcelona 520 (474)

2021–2023 Paris Saint-Germain 58 (22)

2023– Inter Miami 26 (21)

International career‡

2004–2005 Argentina U20 18 (14)

2008 Argentina U23 5[α] (2)

2005– Argentina 191 (112)

show

Medal record

Website messi.com
Signature
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as
of 09:00, 23 February 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:41, 20
November 2024 (UTC)

This article is part of a series about

Lionel Messi

Argentine professional footballer

 Career
 International goals
 Achievements
 Rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo
 New Maradona

Eponyms and public art

 Cougar
 Dog
 Liolaemus messii
 Sistine Chapel of Football

Media
 Messi (2014)
 Messi (2017)
 Messi and Maud (2017)
 Take the Ball Pass the Ball (2018)
 Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a
Legend (2024)
 Family
 Antonela Roccuzzo
 Maxi Biancucchi
 Emanuel Biancucchi

Related
 Hong Kong v Inter Miami
 Más+
 v
 t
 e
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi[note 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ⓘ; born 24
June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for
and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national
team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi set numerous
records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career such
as eight Ballon d'Or awards and eight times being named the world's best
player by FIFA.[note 2] He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football
having won 45 team trophies,[note 3] including twelve Big Five league titles, four UEFA
Champions Leagues, two Copa Américas, and one FIFA World Cup. Messi holds the
records for most European Golden Shoes (6), most goals in a calendar year (91), most
goals for a single club (672, with Barcelona), most goals (474), hat-tricks (36)
and assists (192) in La Liga, most assists (18) and goal contributions (32) in the Copa
América, most goal contributions (21) in the World Cup, most international
appearances (191) and international goals (112) by a South American male, and the
second-most in the latter category outright. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker,
Messi has scored over 850 senior career goals for club and country.
Born in Rosario, Argentina, Messi relocated to Spain to join Barcelona at age 13, and
made his competitive debut at age 17 in October 2004. He gradually established himself
as an integral player for the club, and during his first uninterrupted season at age 22
in 2008–09 he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. This
resulted in Messi winning the first of four consecutive Ballons d'Or, and by the 2011–12
season he would set La Liga and European records for most goals in a season and
establish himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. The following two seasons, he
finished second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, his perceived career rival.
However, he regained his best form during the 2014–15 campaign, where he became
the all-time top scorer in La Liga, led Barcelona to a historic second treble, and won a
fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. He assumed Barcelona's captaincy in 2018 and won a record
sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019. During his overall tenure at Barcelona, Messi won a club-
record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues, among
others. Financial difficulties at Barcelona led to Messi signing with French club Paris
Saint-Germain in August 2021, where he would win the Ligue 1 title during both of his
seasons there. He joined Major League Soccer club Inter Miami in July 2023.

An Argentine international, Messi is the national team's all-time leading

goalscorer and most-capped player. His style of play as a diminutive, left-
footed dribbler drew career-long comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona, who
described Messi as his successor. At the youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World
Youth Championship and gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. After his senior
debut in 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in a World Cup
in 2006. Assuming captaincy in 2011, he then led Argentina to three consecutive finals
in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2015 Copa América and the Copa América
Centenario, all of which they would lose. After initially announcing his international
retirement in 2016, he returned to help his country narrowly qualify for the 2018 FIFA
World Cup, which they would exit early. Messi and the national team finally broke
Argentina's 28-year trophy drought by winning the 2021 Copa América, which helped
him secure his seventh Ballon d'Or that year. He then led Argentina to win the 2022
Finalissima, as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, his country's third overall world
championship and first in 36 years. This followed with a record-extending eighth Ballon
d'Or in 2023, and a victory in the 2024 Copa América.

Messi has endorsed sportswear company Adidas since 2006. According to France
Football, he was the world's highest-paid footballer for five years out of six between
2009 and 2014, and was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2019 and
2022. Messi was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, 2012,
and 2023. In 2020 and 2023, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year,
the first team-sport athlete to win it. In 2020, Messi was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream
Team and became the second footballer and second team-sport athlete to surpass
$1 billion in career earnings. Following his arrival and impact on football in the US,
Messi was named Time's Athlete of the Year in 2023, and in the following year was
bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by decision of the president of the
United States.

Early life

Messi's childhood home in Rosario, Santa Fe.

Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province,[21] the third of four
children of Jorge Messi, a steel factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who
worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. On his father's side, he is of Italian and
Spanish descent, the great-grandson of immigrants from the north-
central Adriatic Marche region of Italy, and on his mother's side, he has primarily Italian
ancestry.[3] Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving family, "Leo" 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.[22] At the age of four he joined local club Grandoli, where he was
coached by his father, though his earliest influence as a player came from his maternal
grandmother, Celia, who accompanied him to training and matches.[23] He was greatly
affected by her death, shortly before his eleventh birthday; since then, as a
devout Catholic, he has celebrated his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky in
tribute to his grandmother.[24][25]

Youth career
Newell's Old Boys
"When you saw him you would think: this kid can't play ball. He's a dwarf, he's too
fragile, too small. But immediately you'd realise that he was born different, that he was
a phenomenon and that he was going to be something impressive."
– Newell's Old Boys youth coach Adrián Coria shares his first impression of the 12-year-old Messi.[26]

A lifelong supporter of Newell's Old Boys, Messi joined the Rosario club when he was
seven years old. During the six years he played for Newell's, he scored almost 500
goals as a member of "The Machine of '87", the near-unbeatable youth side named for
the year of their birth, and regularly entertained crowds by performing ball tricks during
half-time of the first team's home games.[27][28][29] His goalscoring idol growing up was
Brazilian striker Ronaldo, with Messi calling him "the best forward I've ever seen".[30]

However, his future as a professional player was threatened when, aged 10, he was
diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. As his father's health insurance covered
only two years of growth hormone therapy, which cost at least $1,000 per month,
Newell's agreed to contribute, but later reneged on their promise.[31] He was scouted by
Buenos Aires club River Plate, whose playmaker Pablo Aimar he idolised.[32][33] It was
speculated that he failed to sign with River Plate due to his ill health; however, in a 2019
interview, Messi revealed that River Plate had offered to pay for his medical treatment
after he scored four goals at a trial. River wanted to sign him, but Newell's Old Boys,
who had refused to pay for his treatment, also refused to release his player card,
preventing the transfer.[34]

Barcelona

Messi enrolled at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, aged

13.
As the Messi family had relatives in Catalonia, they sought to arrange a trial
with Barcelona in September 2000. First-team director Charly Rexach immediately
wanted to sign him, but the board of directors hesitated; at the time it was highly
unusual for European clubs to sign foreign players of such a young age. On 14
December, an ultimatum was issued for Barcelona to prove their commitment, and
Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered a contract on a paper napkin.[32][35] In
February 2001, the family relocated to Barcelona, where they moved into an apartment
near the club's stadium, Camp Nou. During his first year in Spain, Messi rarely played
with the Infantiles due to a transfer conflict with Newell's; as a foreigner, he could only
be fielded in friendlies and the Catalan league. Without football, he struggled to
integrate into the team; already reserved by nature, he was so quiet that his teammates
initially believed he was mute. At home, he suffered from homesickness after his mother
moved back to Rosario with his brothers and little sister, María Sol, while he stayed in
Barcelona with his father.[27][35][36]

After a year at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, Messi was finally enrolled in
the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in February 2002. Now playing in all
competitions, he befriended his teammates, among whom were Cesc
Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué.[37] After completing his growth hormone therapy aged 14,
[38]
Messi became an integral part of the "Baby Dream Team", Barcelona's greatest-ever
youth side. During his first full season (2002–03), he was top scorer with 36 goals in 30
games for the Cadetes A, who won an unprecedented treble of the league and both the
Spanish and Catalan cups.[37][39] The Copa Catalunya final, a 4–1 victory over Espanyol,
became known in club lore as the partido de la máscara, the final of the mask. A week
after suffering a broken cheekbone during a league match, Messi was allowed to start
the game on the condition that he wear a plastic protector; soon hindered by the mask,
he took it off and scored two goals in 10 minutes before his substitution.[40] At the close
of the season, he received an offer to join Arsenal, his first from a foreign club, but while
Fàbregas and Piqué soon left for England, he chose to remain in Barcelona.[35][41][42]

Messi continued to progress through the club's ranks at a rapid pace, debuting for four
youth teams during the 2003–04 season.[43] After being named player of the tournament
in four international pre-season competitions with the Juvenil B, he played only one
official match with the team before being promoted to the Juvenil A, where he scored 18
goals in 11 league games.[44][45] Messi was then one of several youth players called up to
strengthen a depleted first team during the international break. French winger Ludovic
Giuly explained how Messi caught the eye in a training session with Frank Rijkaard's
first team: "He destroyed us all... They were kicking him all over the place to avoid being
ridiculed by this kid, he just got up and kept on playing. He would dribble past four
players and score a goal. Even the team's starting centre-backs were nervous. He was
an alien."[46]

"It seemed as if he had been playing with us all his life."

– Barcelona's then assistant coach Henk ten Cate on Messi's first-team debut.[47]

At 16 years, four months, and 23 days old, Messi made his first-team debut when he
came on in the 75th minute during a friendly against José Mourinho's Porto on 16
November 2003.[35][48] His performance, creating two chances and a shot on goal,
impressed the technical staff, and he subsequently began training daily with the club's
reserve side, Barcelona B, as well as weekly with the first team.[49] After his first training
session with the senior squad, Barça's new star player, Ronaldinho, told his teammates
that he believed the 16-year-old would become an even better player than himself.
[50]
Ronaldinho soon befriended Messi, whom he called "little brother", which greatly
eased his transition into the first team.[51][52]

To gain further match experience, Messi joined Barcelona C in addition to the Juvenil A,
playing his first game for the third team on 29 November. He helped save them from the
relegation zone of the Tercera División, scoring five goals in ten games, including a hat-
trick in eight minutes during a Copa del Rey match while man-marked
by Sevilla's Sergio Ramos.[44][53] His progress was reflected in his first professional
contract, signed on 4 February 2004, which lasted until 2012 and contained an
initial buyout clause of €30 million. A month later, on 6 March, he made his debut for
Barcelona B in the Segunda División B, and his buyout clause automatically increased
to €80 million.[44][54] He played five games with the B team that season but did not score.
[55]
Physically he was weaker than his opponents, who were often much older and taller,
and in training he worked on increasing his muscle mass and overall strength in order to
be able to shake off defenders. Towards the end of the season, he returned to both
youth teams, helping the Juvenil B win the league. He finished the campaign having
scored for four of his five teams with a total of 36 goals in all official competitions. [44][53]

Club career
Main article: Career of Lionel Messi § Club career
Barcelona
2004–2008: Rise to the first team

Messi (pictured in 2005) at the age of 18 playing for FC Barcelona,

where he played for 17 years.
Messi began the 2004–05 season as a guaranteed starter for the Barcelona B team, but
after some lobbying by the senior players, he was promoted to the first team by
manager Frank Rijkaard.[50] He made his La Liga debut for Barcelona on 16 October
2004 against Espanyol,[35] and scored his first senior goal on 1 May 2005
against Albacete, from an assist by Ronaldinho, becoming at that time the youngest-
ever scorer for the club.[56][57] At 17 years, three months, and 22 days old, he was at the
time the youngest player to represent Barcelona in an official competition, and the club
won the league title during that season.[52][58]

On his 18th birthday, he signed his first contract as a senior team player, which was
updated three months later to keep him at the club until 2014.[54][59] Barcelona began
the 2005–06 season by winning the Supercopa de España without Messi, who was not
selected to participate in the competition.[19] By the end of the season, the team won La
Liga again as well as the UEFA Champions League, although Messi did not play in
the final for the latter due to injury.[60][61]

During the 2006–07 season, Messi scored his first hat-trick in a Clásico against Real
Madrid, the first player to do so in 12 years.[62] An incredibly finesse goal from Messi
against Getafe and another goal scored by a handball against Espanyol gained notice
for their similarities to the two famous goals scored by fellow Argentine Diego
Maradona in the 1986 World Cup match against England, drawing comparisons
between the two that Messi would face throughout his career.[63][64][65] The team finished
the season with only one trophy – the 2006 Supercopa de España. Barcelona finished
the next 2007–08 season trophyless, leading to Rijkaard's departure.[66]

2008–2012: Success under Pep Guardiola

At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, his first under Barcelona's new manager,
former captain Pep Guardiola, Messi was given the number 10 shirt.[67] Over time, he
effectively became the tactical focal point of Guardiola's possession-based system,
increasing his goalscoring rate as a result.[68] During that season, Messi scored 38 tot