24 June 1987) is academic degree Argentine practiced jock World Health Organization plays as a forward for Spanish club town and conjointly the Argentina
national team. typically thought-about the foremost effective player among the globe and regarded by many as a result of the best of all time, Messi is that the
only player in history to win five FIFA Ballon d'Or awards,[note 2] four of that he won consecutively, and a record-tying
four European Golden Shoes.[note 3] He has won twenty 9 trophies with town, furthermore as eight La Liga titles, four UEFA
Champions League titles, and five Copas del Rey. every a prolific goalscorer and a clever playmaker, Messi holds the
records for several official goals scored in La Liga (362), a La Liga season (50), a club season in Europe (73), a
calendar year (91), nevertheless as those for several assists created in La Liga (141) and conjointly the Copa América (11). He has scored over
600 senior career goals for club and country.
Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a STH deficiency as a baby. At age 13, he
relocated to state to affix town, World Health Organization in agreement to induce hold of his medical treatment. once a fast progression through
Barcelona's youth academy, Messi created his competitive debut aged seventeen in New Style calendar month 2004. Despite being injury-prone throughout his
early career, he established himself as academic degree integral player for the club within succeeding three years, finishing 2007 as a
finalist for every the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, a deed he continual the next year. His first
uninterrupted campaign came among the 2008–09 season, throughout that he helped town win the first treble in Spanish
football. At twenty 2 years recent, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record selection margins.
Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons d'Or, furthermore as academic degree new
fourth. His personal best campaign statistically to date was the 2011–12 season, among that he set the La Liga and European
records for several goals scored throughout one season, whereas establishing himself as Barcelona's best high scorer in official
competitions in March 2012. He all over again struggled with injury throughout the next a pair of seasons, doubly finishing second for the
Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, his perceived career rival. Messi regained his best kind throughout the 2014–15 campaign,
breaking the best goalscoring records in every La Liga and conjointly the Champions League in November 2014,[note 4] and semiconductor diode
Barcelona to a historic second treble.
An Argentine international, Messi is his country's best leading goalscorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World
Youth Championship, finishing the tournament with every the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, associate degrees associate degree Olympic trophy at the
2008 Summer Olympic Games. His type of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler actor comparisons with national Diego
Maradona, World Health Organization declared the juvenile his successor. once making his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest
Argentine to play and score throughout a FIFA tournament throughout the 2006 edition, and reached the last word of the 2007 Copa América,
where he was named young player of the tournament. as a result of the squad's captain from August 2011, he semiconductor diode Argentina to many
consecutive finals: the 2014 tournament, that he won the Golden Ball, and conjointly the 2015 and 2016 Copas América. After
announcing his international retirement in 2016, he reversed his decision and semiconductor diode his country to qualification for the 2018
World Cup
