Leonel Messi


Messi Barcelona - Valladolid (cropped).jpg
  
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team as a forward or winger. Considered one of the best football players of his generation,[4][5][6] Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21 and won both by the age of 22. He also won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or at the age of 23.[11] His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".

Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke his team record for the youngest footballer to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in the 2006–07 season; he became a first teamregular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Messi then had the most successful season of his playing career, the 2008–09 season, in which he scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble-winning campaign. This record breaking season was then eclipsed in the following 2009–10 campaign, where Messi scored 47 goals in all competitions, equalling Ronaldo's record total for Barcelona. He surpassed this record in the 2010–11 season.
Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals, including two in the final game. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. 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 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.

Career statistics

Club




International

National teamYearAppsGoalsAssists
Argentina2005500
2006721
20071363
2008821
20091032
20101022
2011212
Total551611

International goals

Under–20

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.[196][197]
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 June 2005Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands Egypt1–02–02005 World Youth Championship
222 June 2005Univé Stadion, Emmen, Netherlands Colombia1–12–12005 World Youth Championship
324 June 2005Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands Spain3–13–12005 World Youth Championship
428 June 2005Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands Brazil1–02–12005 World Youth Championship
52 July 2005Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands Nigeria1–02–12005 World Youth Championship
62 July 2005Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, NetherlandsNigeria Nigeria2–12–12005 World Youth Championship

Under–23

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
17 August 2008Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China Côte d'Ivoire1–02–12008 Summer Olympics
216 August 2008Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China Netherlands1–02–12008 Summer Olympics

Senior team

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
11 March 2006St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland Croatia2–12–3Friendly
216 June 2006WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany Serbia and Montenegro6–06–02006 World Cup
35 June 2007Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain Algeria2–24–3Friendly
45 June 2007Camp Nou, Barcelona, SpainAlgeria Algeria4–24–3Friendly
58 July 2007Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara, Barquisimeto, Venezuela Peru2–04–02007 Copa América
611 July 2007Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela Mexico2–03–02007 Copa América
716 October 2007José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela Venezuela2–02–02010 World Cup qualification
820 November 2007Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, ColombiaColombia Colombia1–01–22010 World Cup qualification
94 June 2008Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United StatesMexico Mexico2–04–1Friendly
1011 October 2008Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina Uruguay1–02–12010 World Cup qualification
1111 February 2009Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France France2–02–0Friendly
1228 March 2009Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaVenezuela Venezuela1–04–02010 World Cup qualification
1314 November 2009Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain Spain1–11–2Friendly
147 September 2010Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaSpain Spain1–04–1Friendly
1517 November 2010Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, QatarBrazil Brazil1–01–0Friendly
169 February 2011Stade de Genève, Geneva, SwitzerlandPortugal Portugal2–12–1Friendly

Awards and honours

Club

Barcelona :
La Liga: 4 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 Copa del Rey: 1 2009 Supercopa de España: 4 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 UEFA Champions League: 2 2006, 2009 UEFA Super Cup: 1 2009 FIFA Club World Cup: 1 2009 Argentina FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1 2005 Olympic Gold Medal: 1 2008  

Individual

Ballon d'Or: 2 2009, 2010 FIFA World Player of the Year: 1 2009 FIFA Team of the Year: 3 2008, 2009, 2010 U-21 European Footballer of the Year: 1 2007 La Liga Player of the Year: 2 2009, 2010 La Liga top goalscorer: 1 2010 Copa del Rey top goalscorer: 1 2011 La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 3 2007, 2009, 2010 La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year: 3 2007, 2009, 2010 European Golden Shoe: 1 2010 UEFA Champions League top goalscorer: 2 2009, 2010 UEFA Champions League Player of the Year: 1 2009 UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year: 1 2009 UEFA Team of the Year: 3 2008, 2009, 2010 Footballer of the Year of Argentina: 5 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 201 FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2 2009, 2010 FIFPro World Young Player of the Year: 3 2006, 2007, 2008 FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year: 2 2007, 2008 FIFPro World XI: 4 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 1 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup top goalscorer: 1 2005 Copa América Young Player of the Tournament: 1 2007 World Soccer Player of the Year: 1 2009 World Soccer Young Player of the Year: 3 2006, 2007, 2008 FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 1 2009 ESM Team of the Year: 4 2005-06, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 Marca Leyenda: 1 2009 Tuttosport Golden Boy: 1 2005 UEFA best goal of the year: 1 2007         

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