Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time. He holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or wins (2009-12, 2015, 2019), the first to claim the award six times. Here are a few snapshots from the life of this legend of football who has millions of fans worldwide and 152 million followers on Instagram:
Timeline
June 24, 1987, Lionel Messsi was born in Rosario, Argentina. He joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys, at 13, and began playing for FC Barcelona’s U-14 team. He scored 21 goals in 14 games for the junior team, and quickly graduated through the higher-level teams. At 16, he was given his informal debut with FC Barcelona in a friendly match
2004-2005 Then 17, he became the youngest official player and goal scorer in the La Liga. Only 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 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 defences
2005 He was granted Spanish citizenship, an honour greeted with mixed feelings by the fiercely Catalan supporters of Barcelona
2006 Messi handed Barcelona the Champions League title
2008 He was one of the most dominant players in the world, finishing second to Cristiano Ronaldo in the voting for the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year
2009 Messi capped off a spectacular season by helping FC Barcelona capture the club's first ‘treble’— 3 major European club titles in one season: La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. He scored 38 goals in 51 matches during that season, and bested Ronaldo in the balloting for the FIFA World Player of the Year by a record margin
2009-10 Messi scored 34 goals in domestic games as Barcelona repeated as La Liga champions. He earned the Golden Shoe as Europe’s leading scorer, and was named the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or. He led Barca to La Liga and Champions League titles the following season, which helped him capture an unprecedented third consecutive FIFA Baloon d'Or
2012 March, he scored 233rd goal for Barca, becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer in La Liga play at 24. He finished Barcelona's 2011-12 season (which included another Copa del Rey win) with 73 goals in all, breaking Gerd Müller's 39-year-old record for single-season goals in a major European football league. His was named the 2012 Ballon d'Or, first to win the honour four times
2012-13 His 46 La Liga goals led the league, and Bara won another domestic top-division championship
2014-15 He set the overall Barcelona goal record when he scored his 370th goal as a member of the team. That same year he also broke the career scoring records for play in both the Champions League (with 72 goals) and La Liga (with 253 goals). He helped Barca win another treble, leading the team with 43 goals, clinching his fifth world player of the year honour
2015-16 He scored 41 goals across for Bara and the club won La Liga and the Copa del Rey
2016-17 Messi topped that with 53 goals for Barcelona, win another Copa del Rey title
2017-18 He scored 45 goals, and Barca won the La Liga-Copa del Rey double once again
2018-19 He scored 51 goals across all domestic competitions as Barca won another La Liga title
Big Numbers
697 Goals
289 Assists
13 Awards
856 Matches
587 Wins
107 Defeats
162 Draws
34 Titles
88 Penalties
54 Hat-tricks
Dribbling challenges
Road to Ballon d’Or 2019
Memorable feats
54 games Messi has for club and country
46 goals scored in all competitions
17 assists provided by him in all games played
68.5% win percentage recorded by Messi
346 La Liga victories scored by Messi helped him overtake Iker Casillas
496 victories helped him overtake Xavi Hernández as the Barça player to win the most matches in all competitions
12 goals in 10 matches is Messi's score for Barcelona in Champions League semifinals, though the club lost to Liverpool in the semifinals
50th free-kick of his career, a magnificent 35-yard free-kick put his side 3-1 up against Real Valladolid
600th goal was scored by him against Liverpool in the Champions League semifinal
3 hat-tricks in 2019, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 34 La Liga hat-tricks in the process
10th La Liga title with Barcelona
34th trophy of his career
6th Pichichi Trophy made him end the 2018-19 La Liga season by winning as top scorer, equalling Telmo Zarra's record which has stood since 1953
36 goals in 34 games stats made him extended his record for the most European Golden Shoe victories after finishing as the top league scorer in Europe and becoming the first player to win the award for three consecutive seasons
Ties with homeland
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