...........ALL ABOUT FOOTBALL LEGEND MESSI...........

............ALL ABOUT FOOTBALL LEGEND MESSI............
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]) (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer.[7] He plays for Barcelona and the Argentina national team as a forward. He also has Spanish citizenship, meaning he can play for Spain. Messi is widely considered by many experts and critics as one of the best football players of all time. Messi has 5 Ballon d'Or awards. Messi was awarded FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009.[8] His playing style and skills are very similar to the Argentine legend Diego Maradona. There is much competition between him and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo because of their similar skill levels.

Lionel Messi

2015 UEFA Super Cup 64 crop.jpg
Messi in 2015 before a game against Sevilla FC

Personal information

Full name
Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini[1]

Date of birth
24 June 1987 (age 30)

Place of birth
Rosario, Argentina

Height
1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[2][3][4][5][6]

Playing position
Forward

Club information

Current team
Barcelona

Number
10

Youth career

1995–2000
Newell's Old Boys

2000–2003
Barcelona

Senior career*

Years
Team Apps (Gls)

2003–2004
Barcelona C 10 (0)

2004–2005
Barcelona B 22 (1)

2004–
Barcelona 410 (374)

National team‡

2004–2005
Argentina U20 19 (0)

2007–2008
Argentina U23 5 (2)

2005–
Argentina 123 (61)

Honours

Representing Argentina

South American U-20 Championship

Third place 2005 Colombia

FIFA U-20 World Cup

Winner 2005 Netherlands

Copa América

Runner-up 2007 Venezuela
Runner-up 2015 Chile
Runner-up 2016 United States

Olympic Games

Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing

FIFA World Cup

Runner-up 2014 Brazil

• Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 March 2018.
  ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2018

Early LifeEdit

Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina to Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini.

CareerEdit

FC BarcelonaEdit

Messi began football at a young age and his potential was quickly seen by Barcelona. He left Newell's Old Boys' youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe for Barcelona. They moved to Spain because Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. He started in the 2004–05 season, and he scored his first goal on 1 May 2005 against Albacete from an assist by Ronaldinho. The goal made him a the youngest-ever scorer for the club at that time. Barcelona won La Liga that season for the first time in 6 years, and won the league for a second time in a row along with the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2006. His first very good season was in the 2006–07 season; he became a first team regular, by scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico. He scored 14 goals in 26 league games. Maybe his most successful season was the 2008–09 season. In this season, Messi scored 38 goals. In the following 2009–10 season, Messi scored 47 goals in all games. That equals to Ronaldo's (Brazilian) record total for Barcelona.

ArgentinaEdit

Messi decided to play for his homeland, Argentina, in 2005. He led the team to the final game of the 2005 U-20 World Cup against Nigeria, which ended in a 2–1 Argentine victory. Messi scored two penalties as his national team won the U-20 World Cup. In addition to the gold medal, Messi was awarded with the Golden Shoe for most goals scored (6), and Golden Ball for best player. Messi was made captain of the national team in 2011.