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Who is Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is an Argentinian soccer player who is considered one of the greatest players of the modern era. He plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award five times (2009-12 and 2015). He is often described as a successor to Diego Maradona due to his prolific goal scoring and ability to drive past opponents.

Early life

Messi started playing football at a young age and in 1995 joined Newell’s Old Boys (Rosario’s first football club). Messi’s incredible skills have caught the eye of famous clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. At 13, Messi moved to Barcelona with his family and started playing for FC Barcelona’s under-14 team. He scored 21 goals in 14 games for the youth team, and quickly rose through the senior team until, at 16, he made his debut for FC Barcelona in a friendly match.

Lionel Messi Club Carrer

FC Barcelona

Messi rose through the ranks of Barcelona’s youth team, leading to a move to the club. He wrestled for five teams at one time. During the international break, Messi was one of the few players who helped strengthen the team in the absence of players. Messi finally made his debut for the national team at the age of sixteen. Messi’s excellent performances made him a friend of Barcelona star Ronaldinho, which allowed him to make a positive change in the first team. His remarkable performances won him a lucrative contract in 2004 that will expire in 2012, the first professional contract he signed, with a release of 30 million euros which amounts to 80 million euros.

During the 2004–05 season, he became a regular starter for the Barcelona B team. However, he was a representative of the A team, making his debut on October 16 against Espanyol. Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona as club captain on his 18th birthday. The contract will expire in 2010, with the release of 150 million euros. Messi has caught the eye of the top clubs in Europe, with Inter Milan showing interest in Messi, offering to triple his salary and paying a fee of 150 million euros. However, Messi decided to stay. In September of this season, his contract was renewed and will expire in 2014. After obtaining Spanish citizenship, Messi began to play alongside Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho, making a powerful trio. During the 2006-2007 season, when he was 19 years old, Messi became one of the best players in the world. Despite his injuries, Messi has proved to be like Argentina legend Diego Maradona when compared to many. A notable event that speaks to this fact is the 2006-2007 Copa del Rey semi-final against Getafe, where he scored a goal similar to Maradona’s 1986 FIFA World Cup goal which was named the goal of the century. . When Ronaldinho failed, Messi became Barcelona’s new star, the Spanish media called him ‘Messiah’. He came second third in the 2007 Ballon d’Or and second in the FIFA World Player of the Year award. After Ronaldinho left, Messi was given the No.10 shirt and signed a new contract with a salary of 7.8 million euros per year, the most in Barcelona. In 2008, he finished second in the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

However, he won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Player of the Year in 2009, aged 22. During that time, Messi enjoyed a successful campaign, winning his second La Liga title in a row.

In 2010, Messi won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the first time despite winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Messi ended the 2010–11 season as Barcelona’s top scorer in one season and the first Spanish player to break the 50-goal mark. Due to his impressive performance, Messi has earned the reputation as a creator (No. 8), goal scorer (No. 9) and assistant (No. ten). He won the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or award and the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe award. Due to his many achievements, Messi is considered as one of the best in the history of sports.

Messi’s impressive form continued, and in 2012, he was awarded the Guinness Book of Records for the most goals scored in a calendar year and the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. During the 2013-2014 season, Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona that will see him at Camp Nou until 2018. When Messi was injured and deemed unfit for Barcelona’s Champions League match against Bayern Munich, the big the Catalan won 7-0 on aggregate. . Barcelona have been heavily criticized for their poor performance which shows they are dependent on the Argentine star. His campaign at the time was his worst in five years. He signed a new contract with Barcelona which saw his salary rise from €20m to €36m. Under new coach Luis Enrique. Messi has been La Liga’s all-time top scorer. He came second in the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or for the second time in a row. Messi has set up a three-way attack with teammates Suarez and Neymar that are deadly for opponents. At the end of the season, he was awarded the UEFA Best Player in Europe award. During the 2015-2016 season, Messi became the youngest player to play 100 Champions League games. Messi also helped Barcelona win the 2015 World Cup, where he received the Silver Ball of the tournament. Messi became the runner-up to Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2016 Ballon d’Or and the 2016 Best FIFA Men’s Player award, and he won the Pichichi and the European Golden Shoe.

Messi also put in some great performances in the 2017-2018 season but not enough to win him the Ballon d’Or. Messi was named captain in the 2018-2019 season after his departure

National team career of Lionel Messi

The ace footballer has scored 65 goals in 128 matches for the Argentina national team. However, he stopped short of extending his run at Barcelona and the Albiceleste. If he always does well, every time he leads the Albiceleste in the competition, they fall in the quarter-finals, semi-finals or the final.

In the 2006 World Cup, Messi, who was a minor, was part of the Argentina team that advanced to the quarterfinals. Eight years later, on South American soil, Messi led the Albiceleste to a magnificent World Cup final before his dream of a World Cup came to an end after the end of the German rivals. The Copa America is the same, emerging as the runners-up.