Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ( listen); born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional denn, wegen who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the captains Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and rated by many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only football player in history to-win-five FIFA Ballon d ' Or, four of which he won consecutively, and the first player to win three European Golden-Schuhe.[note 2] With Barcelona he has won eight Die Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles, as well as four Copas del Rey. Both a prolific goalscorer and creative spielmacher, Messi holds the records for most goals scored in Die Liga, in Die Liga season (50), and-a football season (82), as well as those for most assists made in Die Liga und die Copa América. He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country.

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi, was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast-progression through Barcelona' ' s youth academy, Messi made his competitive debut aged 17 October 2004. Despite being injury-prone during his early career, he established himself as an integral player for the club "within the next three years, finishing 2007 as a finalist for both the Ballon d' Or und FIFA World Player of the Year award, feat he repeated the following year. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the season 2008-09, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. At 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon d ' Or und FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins.