Lionel Andrés
Messi was born
on 24 June 1987.
He is an
Argentine
footballer who
currently plays
for La Liga team
Barcelona and
the Argentine
national team.
Considered as
one of the best
football players
of his
generation and
frequently cited
as the world's
best
contemporary
player, Messi
received several
Ballon d'Or and
FIFA World
Player of the
Year nominations
by the age of 21
and won both by
the age of 22.
His playing
style and
ability have
drawn
comparisons to
football legend
Diego Maradona,
who himself
declared Messi
his "successor".
Lionel Messi
began playing
football at a
young age and
his potential
was quickly
identified by
Barcelona. He
left Rosario-based
Newell's Old
Boys's youth
team in 2000 and
moved with his
family to Europe,
as Barcelona
offered
treatment for
his growth
hormone
deficiency.
Making his debut
in the 2004–05
season, he broke
the La Liga
record for the
youngest
footballer to
play a league
game, and also
the youngest to
score a league
goal. Major
honours soon
followed as
Barcelona won La
Liga in Messi's
debut season,
and won a double
of the league
and UEFA
Champions League
in 2006. His
breakthrough
season was in
2006–07: he
became a first
team regular,
scoring a hat-trick
in El Clásico
and finishing
with 14 goals in
26 league games.
Perhaps his most
successful
season was the
2008–09 season,
in which Messi
scored 38 goals
to play an
integral part in
a treble-winning
campaign.
Lionel Messi was
the top scorer
of the 2005 FIFA
World Youth
Championship
with six goals,
including two in
the final game.
Shortly
thereafter, he
became an
established
member of
Argentina's
senior
international
team. 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, in
Beijing, he won
his first
international
honour, an
Olympic gold
medal, with the
Argentina
Olympic football
team.
Lionel Messi was
born on 24 June
1987 in Rosario,
Argentina, to
parents Jorge
Horacio Messi, a
factory worker,
and Celia María
Cuccittini, a
part-time
cleaner. His
paternal family
originates from
the Italian city
of Ancona where
his ancestor,
Angelo Messi,
emigrated to
Argentina in
1883. He has two
older brothers
named Rodrigo
and Matías as
well as a sister
named Maria Sol.
At the age of
five, Messi
started playing
football for
Grandoli, a
local club
coached by his
father Jorge. In
1995, Messi
switched to
Newell's Old
Boys who were
based in his
home city
Rosario. At the
age of 11, he
was diagnosed
with a growth
hormone
deficiency.
Primera División
club River Plate
showed interest
in Messi's
progress, but
did not have
enough money to
pay for the
treatment, as it
cost $900 a
month. Carles
Rexach, the
sporting
director of
Barcelona, had
been made aware
of his talent as
Messi had
relatives in
Lleida,
Catalonia, and
Messi and his
father were able
to arrange a
trial. Barcelona
signed him after
watching him
play, offering
to pay for the
medical bills if
he was willing
to move to
Spain. His
family moved to
Europe and he
started in the
club's youth
teams.
Lionel Messi was
at one stage
romantically
linked to
Macarena Lemos,
also from his
hometown of
Rosario. He is
said to have
been introduced
to her by the
girl's father
when he returned
to Rosario to
recover from his
injury a few
days before the
start of the
2006 World Cup.
He has in the
past also been
linked to the
Argentine model,
Luciana Salazar.
In January 2009
he told "Hat
Trick Barça", a
programme on
Canal 33: "I
have a
girlfriend and
she is living in
Argentina, I am
relaxed and
happy". He was
seen with the
girl, Antonella
Roccuzzo, at a
carnival in
Sitges after the
Barcelona-Espanyol
derby. Roccuzzo
is a fellow
native of
Rosario. They
plan to wed near
the end of 2010.
He is featured
on the front
cover of the
video game Pro
Evolution Soccer
2009 and is also
involved in
promotional
campaigns for
the game. Messi,
along with
Fernando Torres,
is the face of
Pro Evolution
Soccer 2010, and
was also
involved in the
motion capturing
and the trailer.
Messi is
sponsored by the
German
sportswear
company Adidas
and features in
their television
advertisements.
He has two
cousins in
football; Maxi
and Emanuel
Biancucchi.
Lionel Messi was
announced as a
goodwill
ambassador for
UNICEF on 11
March 2010.
