Lionel Messi, also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine-born football player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. Messi started playing football as a boy and in 1995 joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys, a Rosario-based top-division football club².
Messi’s phenomenal skills garnered the attention of prestigious clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. At age 13 Messi and his family relocated to Barcelona, and he began playing for FC Barcelona’s under-14 team. He scored 21 goals in 14 games for the junior team, and he quickly graduated through the higher-level teams until at age 16 he was given his informal debut with FC Barcelona in a friendly match².
In the 2004–05 season Messi, then 17, became the youngest official player and goal scorer in the Spanish La Liga (the country’s highest division of football). Though only 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 metres) tall and weighing 148 pounds (67 kg), he was strong, well-balanced, and versatile on the field. Naturally left-footed, quick, and precise in control of the ball, Messi was a keen pass distributor and could readily thread his way through packed defenses².
Messi has received a record-setting seven Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s top male player (2009–12, 2015, 2019, and 2021). In 2022 he helped Argentina win the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s World Cup².
Messi's story is one of perseverance and dedication to his craft. Despite facing physical limitations and financial restrictions in his youth, he never gave up on his dream of becoming a professional footballer. His hard work paid off as he scored his way to the top and became one of the greatest athletes of our time¹.