Lionel Messi in 2012
Lionel Andrés Messi (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays in La Liga for FC Barcelona and is the captain of the Argentina national team, mainly as a forward.
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 and FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011. 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".
Messi has won five La Liga titles and three Champions League titles. In 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, in a 7–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. With two goals in the next round against A.C. Milan, he matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single UEFA Champions League/European Cup season. He also became the first player to top-score in four successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns.[8][9] He set the world record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.
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 América tournament the following year. In 2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.
Career statistics
Club Career
| National team | Year | Apps | Gol | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 2005-06 | 25 | 8 | 4 |
| 2006-07 | 36 | 17 | 3 | |
| 2007-08 | 40 | 16 | 3 | |
| 2008-09 | 51 | 38 | 18 | |
| 2009-10 | 51 | 38 | 18 | |
| 2010-11 | 55 | 53 | 24 | |
| 2011-12 | 60 | 73 | 28 | |
| Total | 320 | 252 | 101 | |
National Team Career
| National Team | Year | Apps | Gol | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2005 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 8 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 6 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 9 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 10 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 10 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 8 | 2 | 7 | |
| Total | 60 | 17 | 17 | |
Honours
BarcelonaWinner
La Liga (5): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
Copa del Rey (2): 2008–09, 2011–12
Supercopa de España (5): 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
UEFA Champions League (3): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
UEFA Super Cup (2): 2009, 2011
FIFA Club World Cup (2): 2009, 2011
Runner-Up
La Liga (2): 2006–07, 2011–12
Copa del Rey (1): 2010–11
UEFA Super Cup (1): 2006
FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2006
Winner
FIFA U-20 World Cup (1): 2005
Olympic Gold Medal (1): 2008
Runner-Up
Copa América (1): 2007
Individual
FIFA Ballon d'Or : 2 (2010, 2011)
Ballon d'Or : 1 (2009)
FIFA World Player of the Year : 1 (2009)
World Soccer Player of the Year : 2 (2009, 2011)
World Soccer Young Player of the Year : 3 (2006, 2007, 2008)
ESM Team of the Year : 5 (2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11)
European Golden Shoe : 2 (2010, 2012)
La Liga top goalscorer : 2 (2010, 2012)
Copa del Rey top goalscorer : 1 (2011)
La Liga Player of the Year : 3 (2009, 2010, 2011)
LFP Best Player : 3 (2009, 2010, 2011)
LFP Best Forward : 3 (2009, 2010, 2011)
La Liga Foreign Player of the Year : 3 (2007, 2009, 2010)
La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year : 5 (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
UEFA Champions League top goalscorer : 4 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award : 1 (2011)
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year : 1 (2009)
UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year : 1 (2009)
UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match : 1 (2011)
UEFA Team of the Year : 4 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Onze d'Or : 3 (2009, 2010, 2011)
Bravo Award : 1 (2007)
Tuttosport Golden Boy : 1 (2005)
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball : 2 (2009, 2011)
FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament : 1 (2005)
FIFA U-20 World Cup top goalscorer : 1 (2005)
Copa América Young Player of the Tournament : 1 (2007)
FIFPro World Young Player of the Year : 3 (2006, 2007, 2008)
FIFA/FIFPro World XI : 5 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Sportsperson of the Year of Argentina : 1 (2011)
Footballer of the Year of Argentina : 6 (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Male Best Athlete in Latin America : 1 (2011)
Marca Leyenda : 1 (2009)
L'Équipe Champion of Champions : 1 (2011)
World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year : 1 (2011)
Lionel Messi :
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