Lionel Andrés Messi, is an Argentine professional football player who plays as a 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 all time best players, has a record seven Ballon d'Or victories, a record six European Golden boots, and he 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 34 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 a talented player who consistently scores goals. He owns the La Liga records for most goals (474), most hat-tricks (36) and the UEFA Champions League (eight), and most assists (192 and the Copa América) (17). He also has the most international goals than any male footballer from South America (99). Messi has the most goals by a player for a single club (672) with 800 senior career goals for club and country.
Messi moved to Spain from Argentina when he was 13 years old to join Barcelona, where he made his professional debut in October 2004 at the age of 17. Throughout the following three years, he established himself as a key member of the team, and in his first continuous season in 2008-09, Messi won his first Ballon d'Or at the age of 22 while helping Barcelona win the first treble in Spanish football. Messi became the first player to win the Ballon 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 lifelong rival, for the Ballon d'Or the next two seasons, Messi found his finest form in the 2014-15 season, setting a record for La Liga goals scored, leading Barcelona to an unprecedented second treble, and winning a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. Messi became Barcelona's captain in 2018, and he set a record by winning his sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019. He joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021 after he was out of contract with Barcelona.
Messi, an Argentine international, is the country's all-time leading goalscorer and also holds the national appearance record. At the youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, winning both the Golden Ball and the Golden boot, as well as an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His diminutive, left-footed dribbling style drew comparisons to his compatriot Diego Maradona, who described Messi as his successor. Messi made his senior debut in August 2005 and
went on to become the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup (2006), as well as reach the final of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named the tournament's young player. From August 2011, as captain, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, the 2015 Copa América, also for which he won the Golden Ball, and the 2016 Copa América. After declaring his retirement from international football in 2016, he reversed his decision and led his country to qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, third place in the 2019 Copa América, and victory in the 2021 Copa América, winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot for the latter. Messi will receive a record seventh Ballon d'Or in 2021 for this achievement. He led Argentina to victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he won a record second Golden Ball, became the first player to score in every stage of a World Cup including two in the final, and broke the record for most World Cup appearances (26).
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