Lionel Messi

Messi" redirects here. For Cameroonian football midfielder, see Georges Parfait Mbida Messi. Not to be confused with Massi (disambiguation), Messe (disambiguation), Messih, or Messy (disambiguatio This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Messi and the second or maternal family name is Cuccitini. Lionel Andrs Messi Cuccitini[2] (Spanish pronunciation: [ljonel andes mesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays for La Liga club FC Barcelona and is the current captain of the Argentina national team, playing mainly as a forward. He is currently Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions, excluding friendlies.[3] By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year in 2009 he won both the Ballon d'Or[4] and FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011.[5] He also won the 2010 11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Messi is the fourth football player to win three Ballons d'Or, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballons d'Or, after Michel Platini. His playing style and small stature have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".[6][7] [8][9][10] Messi has won five La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de Espaa, three Champions Leagues, two Super Cups and two Club World Cups. In 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, in a 71 win against Bayer Leverkusen.[11] With two goals in the next round against Milan, he matched Jos Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season.[12] He also became the first player to top-score in four successive Champions League campaigns.[13][14] He set the world record for most goals scored in a season during the 201112 season, with 73 goals.[15] In the

same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals.[16] Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa Amrica tournament the following year, in which he was elected young player of the tournament.[17] In 2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team. Sportspro has rated Lionel Messi as the 3rd most marketable athlete in the world.[18]