Leo Messi, also known as Lionel Andrés Messi, is an Argentine professional football player who plays forward for Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. He was born on June 24, 1987. Messi, who is recognized as one of the best players of all time, has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was selected for the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020. He spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, retiring from the team in 2021 after winning a club-record 35 trophies there, including 10 La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey championships, and four UEFA Champions Leagues. He won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup for his nation.
Messi is an outstanding goalscorer and playmaker who owns the La Liga records for most goals (474), most hat-tricks (36) and UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists (192 and Copa América) (17). He also has the greatest global objectives of any man from South America (98). Messi has the most goals by a player for a single club, with over 790 senior career goals for club and country (672).
Messi, who was born and bred in central Argentina, moved to Spain at the age of 13 to join Barcelona, where he made his professional debut in October 2004 at the age of 17. Within the following three years, he established himself as a crucial member of the team, and Messi won his first Ballon d'Or that year, at the age of 22, and helped Barcelona win the first triple in Spanish football during his first continuous season in 2008–09. Messi became the first player to win the Ballons d'Or four times after three brilliant seasons in which he won the prize four times in a row. He established himself as Barcelona's all-time leading scorer during the 2011–12 season, breaking both La Liga and European records for the number of goals scored in a single season. After trailing Cristiano Ronaldo (his alleged career opponent) for the Ballon d'Or the next two seasons, Messi found his finest form in the 2014–15 season, becoming the league's all-time leading scorer and guiding Barcelona to a historic second treble, for which he was granted the awarded a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. Messi became the captain of Barcelona in 2018, and he set a record by winning the Ballon d'Or six times in 2019. He joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021 after terminating his contract.
Messi, an Argentine international, is the nation's all-time best scorer and holds the record for appearances. He won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship for youth players, taking home the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards, as well as an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Games. His small, left-footed dribbling style of play attracted analogies to that of his countryman Diego Maradona, who referred to Messi as his heir. Messi made his senior debut in August 2005, became the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup in 2006, and reached the final of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named young player of the tournament. Since August 2011, when he became the team's captain, he has guided Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2015 and 2016 Copa Américas, where he earned the Golden Ball in 2015, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball. After declaring his retirement from international competition in 2016, he changed his mind and guided his nation to qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, third place at the 2019 Copa América, and triumph at the 2021 Copa América, taking home the Golden Ball and Golden Boot for the latter event. With this accomplishment, he would be awarded a record-breaking seventh Ballon d'Or in 2021. He led his nation to victory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, for which he received the Golden Ball a record-breaking second time, and broke the mark for most World Cup appearances with 26 games played.
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