Lionel Messi
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Messi with Inter Miami in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Lionel Andrés Messi[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1987[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | 46 | (41) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Argentina U20 | 18 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Argentina U23 | 5[α] | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005– | Argentina | 194 | (114) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 03:45, 17 September 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:12, 5 September 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 in history, Messi has set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career, including eight Ballons d'Or, six European Golden Shoes, and eight times being named the world's best player by FIFA.[note 2] In 2025, he was named the All Time Men's World Best Player by the IFFHS. He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football having won 45 team trophies.[note 3] Messi's records include most goals in a calendar year (91), most goals for a single club (672 for Barcelona), most goals in La Liga (474), most goal contributions in the FIFA World Cup (21), and most goal contributions in the Copa América (32). A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi has scored 880 senior career goals and provided 390 assists for club and country—the most of any player—resulting in 1,270 goal contributions, the highest total in the sport's history.[21]
Messi made his competitive debut for Barcelona 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 Ballon d'Ors, and by the 2011–12 season he set the European record for most goals in a season and established himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. During the 2014–15 campaign, where he became the all-time top scorer in La Liga, he led Barcelona to a historic second treble, leading to a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. He assumed Barcelona's captaincy in 2018 and won a record sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019. 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 won the Ligue 1 title during both of his seasons there. He joined MLS club Inter Miami in July 2023.
An Argentine international, Messi is the national team's all-time leading goalscorer and most-capped player. Several years after his senior debut in 2005, he won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Assuming captaincy in 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals in the 2014 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 World Cup. Messi was central to ending Argentina's 28-year trophy drought by winning the 2021 Copa América, which helped him secure his seventh Ballon d'Or that year. In the following year, he led Argentina to winning the 2022 World Cup, the country's first in 36 years. This followed with a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or in 2023. Messi was victorious at the 2024 Copa América, his third major international title.
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 was bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US president Joe Biden in 2025.
- ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: Argentina (ARG)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Profile: Lionel Andrés Messi". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Balagué 2013, pp. 32–37.
- ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 10 June 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Marsden, Sam (2 November 2017). "Messi donates to charity after libel case win". ESPN. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Lacombe, Rémy (11 January 2016). "Messi, le Cinquième Élément" [Messi, the Fifth Element]. France Football (in French). Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Messi, Lloyd, Luis Enrique and Ellis Triumph at FIFA Ballon d'Or 2015". FIFA. 11 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ Straeten, Karine van der; Laslier, Jean-François; Daoust, Jean-François; Blais, André; Arrondel, Luc; Anderson, Christopher J. (2020). "Messi, Ronaldo, and the Politics of Celebrity Elections: Voting for the Best Soccer Player in the World". Perspectives on Politics. 18 (1): 91–110. doi:10.1017/S1537592719002391. ISSN 1537-5927.
- ^ "Ballon d'Or 2023 : Lionel Messi sacré pour la huitième fois" [Ballon d'Or 2023: Lionel Messi crowned for the eighth time] (in French). L'Equipe. 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Lionel Messi wins The Best FIFA Men's Player Award". FIFA. 15 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
Lionel Messi has been crowned The Best FIFA Men's Player 2023, retaining the title he won in 2022 [...] Messi also won the 2019 Best FIFA Men's Player award and was recognised by FIFA as the leading player in the men's game on five occasions prior to that – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 – making this his eighth individual award in total.
- ^ "Messi wins 35th trophy with Barça". FC Barcelona. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "The World Cup, The Best and all of Lionel Messi's trophy wins". FIFA. 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ "Lionel Messi extends world record: Inter Miami win Supporters' Shield". Major League Soccer. 3 October 2024. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "Conditions regarding the marketing of the "Spanish Super Cup" audiovisual rights in the international markets" (PDF). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 12 November 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
Lionel Messi is the competition's all-time leading scorer and most successful player with eight titles.
- ^ Aldunate, Ramiro (18 April 2021). "The legend of Messi". Marca. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ Corrigan, Dermot (18 April 2021). "Messi's magic has just won him a 35th trophy with Barcelona – but will it be the last?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ Azzoni, Tales (1 July 2021). "Messi's future up in the air as Barcelona contract ends". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Lionel Messi wins 46th trophy as Inter Miami secures 2024 Supporters' Shield". Marca. 3 October 2024. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ Romero Nuñez, Fernando (22 August 2023). "Messi wins first title at Miami, does he hold the all-time record?". Buenos Aires Herald. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ Maverino, Silvio (15 July 2024). "Lionel Messi se convirtió en el jugador más ganador de la historia del fútbol" [Lionel Messi became the winningest player in football history]. El Gráfico (in Spanish). ISSN 0017-291X. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Mandela, Nelson (17 September 2025). "Messi vs Ronaldo: The eternal debate — who is the true GOAT?". PML Daily. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
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