After blessing himself, Messi often celebrates a goal by pointing a finger on each hand towards the sky in dedication to his late grandmother. His goal celebration features in the FIFA video game series, first appearing in FIFA 14.
Agüero shares a close friendship with Lionel Messi, his regular roommate during outings for the national team since 2005. He described Messi as being "like a brother" in his 2014 autobiography, Born to Rise, which contains a foreword written by Messi.
Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team.
Background
Ethnicity:
On his father's side, he is of Italian and Spanish descent, the great-grandson of immigrants from the northcentral Adriatic Marche region of Italy and Catalonia, and on his mother's side, he has primarily Italian ancestry.
Lionel Messi was born, 24 June 1987, in Rosario, Argentina to a working class family. His father was a factory steel worker, and his mother a cleaner.
As a young boy, he tagged along when his two older brothers played soccer with their friends, unintimidated by the bigger boys. At the age of five, Messi started playing for the Grandoli, a local club coached by his father. By the time he turned eight, he was playing for Newell’s Old Boys. The group was immensely talented, which is visible from the fact that they lost just a single match in the next four years. It was their sheer interest and talent for the game that made the group popularly known as ‘The Machine of '87’
At the age of 8, he was recruited to join the youth system of Newell's Old Boys, a Rosario-based club. Recognizably smaller than most of the kids in his age group, at the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). This was a condition that stunted growth, and required expensive medical treatment, including the use of the drug Human growth hormone.
Local club, River Plate were interested in signing Messi, but didn’t want to pay for his medical treatment. However, Messi was given a trial with Barcelona, and coach Carles Rexach was impressed – offering Messi a contract (written on paper napkin!) which included paying for Messi’s treatment in Spain. Messi moved to Barcelona with his father.
Education
Messi enrolled at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, at age 13.
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 defenses. In 2005 he was granted Spanish citizenship, an honour greeted with mixed feelings by the fiercely Catalan supporters of Barcelona. The next year Messi and Barcelona won the Champions League (the European club championship) title.
Messi’s play continued to rapidly improve over the years, and by 2008 he was one of the most dominant players in the world, finishing second to Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo in the voting for the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year. In early 2009 Messi capped off a spectacular 2008–09 season by helping FC Barcelona capture the club’s first “treble” (winning three major European club titles in one season): the team won the La Liga championship, the Copa del Rey (Spain’s major domestic cup), and the Champions League title. He scored 38 goals in 51 matches during that season, and he bested Ronaldo in the balloting for FIFA World Player of the Year honours by a record margin. During the 2009–10 season Messi scored 34 goals in domestic games as Barcelona repeated as La Liga champions.
Messi led Barcelona to La Liga and Champions League titles the following season, which helped him capture an unprecedented third consecutive world player of the year award. In March 2012 he netted his 233rd goal for Barcelona, becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer in La Liga play when only 24 years old. He finished Barcelona’s 2011–12 season (which included another Copa del Rey win) with 73 goals in all competitions, breaking Gerd Müller’s 39-year-old record for single-season goals in a major European football league. His landmark season led to his being named the 2012 world player of the year, which made Messi the first player to win the honour four times. His 46 La Liga goals in 2012–13 led the league, and Barcelona captured another domestic top-division championship that season. In 2014 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). Messi helped Barcelona capture another treble during the 2014–15 season, leading the team with 43 goals scored over the course of the campaign, which resulted in his fifth world player of the year honour. He scored 41 goals across all competitions for Barcelona in 2015–16, and the club won the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey during that season. Messi topped that with 53 goals for Barcelona in 2016–17, leading the team to another Copa del Rey title. In 2017–18 he scored 45 goals, and Barcelona won the La Liga–Copa del Rey double once again.
Despite his dual citizenship and professional success in Spain, Messi’s ties with his homeland remained strong, and he was a key member of various Argentine national teams from 2005. He played on Argentina’s victorious 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship squad, represented the country in the 2006 World Cup, and scored two goals in five matches as Argentina swept to the gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Messi helped Argentina reach the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals, where the team was eliminated by Germany for the second consecutive time in World Cup play. At the 2014 World Cup, Messi put on a dazzling display, scoring four goals and almost single-handedly propelling an offense-deficient Argentina team through the group stage and into the knockout rounds, where Argentina then advanced to the World Cup final for the first time in 24 years. Argentina lost that contest 1–0 to Germany, but Messi nevertheless won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player. During the 2016 Copa América Centenario tournament, he netted his 55th international goal to break Gabriel Batistuta’s Argentine scoring record. After Argentina was defeated in the Copa final—the team’s third consecutive finals loss in a major tournament—Messi said that he was quitting the national team, but his short-lived “retirement” lasted less than two months before he announced his return to the Argentine team. At the 2018 World Cup, he helped an overmatched Argentine side reach the knockout stage, where they were eliminated by eventual champion France in their first match.
In addition to earning a football salary that was frequently, with Ronaldo’s, one of the two largest athletes’ salaries in all professional sports, he was an extremely successful product pitchman, notably for the sportswear company Adidas. In 2013 Messi and his father (who handled his son’s finances) were charged with tax fraud and accused of using overseas shell companies to avoid paying €4.2 million in Spanish taxes on endorsement earnings. Despite subsequently paying €5 million to the Spanish state, the pair were nevertheless ordered to stand trial on the charges in 2016. In July of that year, Messi and his father were each given suspended 21-month prison sentences (first-time offenders in Spain are given suspended sentences if the duration is under two years) and were fined €2 million and €1.5 million, respectively.
Although for Messi religion isn’t discussed frequently in public, on certain occasions he has been open about his faith in Catholicism. While growing up Messi’s religion formed due to his family’s beliefs and the way they raised him. Argentina’s official religion is Roman Catholic Christianity, with 92 percent of Argentine citizens considering this to be their religion even though less than 20 percent practice their faith regularly.
The soccer star appears to be at least somewhat connected with his faith; he has a tattoo of Jesus Christ on his upper right arm and a tattoo of the Rose Window, a window located in the Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona, on his right elbow.
Politics
Messi isn’t really political himself, he just tends to be used by politicians–sometimes without his permission. A photo of Messi was used by politician Alfredo Olmedo of Salta, Argentina with the caption (loosely translated): Say yes to sports, say no to drugs. Messi pursued legal action against Olmedo.
Also, Messi’s likeness was used at an EU political conference, but only as an example of an excellent European even though he’s really Argentinian.
If Messi has any actual political views, he manages to keep them out of the spotlight–which might be for the better as he’s a football hero to most people, not a social commentator.
Views
Throughout his career, Messi has been involved in charitable efforts aimed at vulnerable children, a commitment that stems in part from the medical difficulties he faced in his own childhood. Since 2004, he has contributed his time and finances to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), an organisation with which Barcelona also have a strong association. He has participated in UNICEF campaigns targeting HIV prevention, education, and the social inclusion of disabled children. To celebrate his son's first birthday, in November 2013, Messi and Thiago were part of a publicity campaign to raise awareness of mortality rates among disadvantaged children.
Quotations:
"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it."
"I'm lucky to be part of a team who help to make me look good, and they deserve as much of the credit for my success as I do for the hard work we have all put in on the training ground."
"I prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else. I'm more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When all this is over, what are you left with? When I retire, I hope I am remembered for being a decent guy."
"Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn't paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing."
"There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game."
"There's nothing more satisfying than seeing a happy and smiling child. I always help in any way I can, even if it's just by signing an autograph. A child's smile is worth more than all the money in the world."
"In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision."
"Every year I try to grow as a player and not get stuck in a rut. I try to improve my game in every way possible. But that trait is not something I've worked on, it's part of me."
"Whether it's a friendly match, or for points, or a final, or any game - I play the same. I'm always trying to be my best, first for my team, for myself, for the fans, and to try and win."
"You cannot allow your desire to be a winner to be diminished by achieving success before and I believe there is room for improvement in every sportsman."
"I never think about the play or visualize anything. I do what comes to me at that moment. Instinct. It has always been that way."
"Being named among the best at something is special and beautiful. But if there are no titles, nothing is won."
"It seems like people want to blame me for everything. Whenever any issue arises, I'm said to have been involved even if I've had nothing to do with it. That's why I always focus on what I know, which is playing football, and try to be very careful with what I say because people always try and twist things."
"I've always really just liked football, and I've always devoted a lot of time to it. When I was a kid, my friends would call me to go out with them, but I would stay home because I had practice the next day. I like going out, but you have to know when you can and when you can't."
"I am competitive and I feel bad when we lose. You can see it in me when we've lost. I'm in a bad way. I don't like to talk to anyone."
"I've never stopped being Argentine, and I've never wanted to. I feel very proud of being Argentine, even though I left there. I've been clear about this since I was very young, and I never wanted to change."
Membership
Messi has served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since his appointment in March 2010, completing his first field mission for the organisation four months later as he travelled to Haiti to bring public awareness to the plight of the country's children in the wake of the recent earthquake.
Personality
Lionel is strong, fast and creative. He is comfortable at any of the forward positions and is not intimidated by bigger players. There is almost nothing he cannot do on a soccer field, and his powerful shot makes him especially good on set plays, such as penalty kicks and corners.
Lionel breezes past defenders almost effortlessly, feinting one way until a tackler commits and then taking the ball in the opposite direction. When he gets up a head of steam, opponents find themselves having to guess which way he will go—he gives away little with his body language.
Perhaps the scariest thing about Lionel is how cool-headed he is for a young player. The son of a coach always views the field a little differently, but he sees things his own coaches often do not. That is why he is so good in the late stages of a game, either as a starter or a sub. With 70 or 80 minutes to analyze an enemy defense, he knows precisely how and when to strike at an opponent’s soft spot.
Ultimately, Lionel’s greatest genius is a result of his size. Because he does not have the physique to make space for himself, he does so in other ways. He is always aware of the players around him and will give up the ball knowing he’ll get it back in better position. No one in pro soccer is as good at creating space and opportunity where none seems to exist.
Physical Characteristics:
Lionel Messi is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 72 kilograms (159 pounds). With his short stature, speed and relentless attacking style, Messi has drawn comparisons to another famous Argentinian footballer: Diego Maradona.
Quotes from others about the person
"Messi is the best in the world without any doubt and for me the history of football," Luis Enrique.
"Once they said they can only stop me with a pistol. Today you need a machine gun to stop Messi." - Hristo Stoichkov.
"Messi or Ronaldo best player in the world? In the world, I would say Ronaldo. Messi is from another planet." - Turkish international Arda Turan.
"Messi is God, as a person and even more as a player. I knew him when he was a boy and I’ve watched him grow. He deserves it all." - Samuel Eto'o.
"Although he may not be human, it’s good that Messi still thinks he is." - Javier Mascherano.
"They tell me that all men are equal in God’s eyes, this player makes you seriously think about those words." - Football commentator Ray Hudson.
"Newton and Einstein had a certain level of autism - I hope that, like them, Messi surpasses himself every day and continues to give us his beautiful brand of football." - Romario.
"Messi is the Mozart of football." - Radomir Antic.
"It is clear that Messi is on a level above all others. Those who do not see that are blind." - Xavi.
"There are three or four important things in life: books, friends, women… and Messi." - Portuguese writer Antonio Lobo Antunes.
"Barca will never have a player like Messi again. Messi’s greatness is present on and off the field of play." - Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.
"Messi is class. There is him, and then there is the rest. What he does is extraordinary." - Franck Ribery.
"We give him the ball and stand back and watch. People often say to me they saw Pele and Maradona play. In the future, I will be able to say I saw Messi play." - Thiago Alcanatara.
"He is always going forwards. He never passes the ball backwards or sideways. He has only one idea, to run towards the goal. So as a football fan, just enjoy the show." - Zinedine Zidane.
"He sees passes that most people can only see whilst watching the game on TV, not ones that you can normally see on the pitch." - Tata Martino.
"For the world of football, Messi is a treasure because he is role model for children around the world… Messi will be the player to win the most Ballons d’Or in history. He will win five, six, seven. He is incomparable. He’s in a different league." - Johan Cruyff.
"Diego [Maradona] filled us with emotions. But between the cracks, without doubt, Messi is better than Maradona." - Diego Simeone.
"There is no doubt, you’re from another galaxy. Thanks Leo." - Maxi Rodriguez.
"Who is the Best Player in the World? Leo Messi. Who is the Best Player Ever? Leo Messi." - Arsene Wenger.
"I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius." - Diego Maradona.
"Messi does not need his right foot. He only uses the left and he’s still the best in the world. Imagine if he also used his right foot, Then we would have serious problems." - Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"It feels good to be in the same generation as him. I believe he’s the best player in the history of the sport." - Gerard Pique.
"Lionel Messi is quite clearly the best player ever. It’s a pleasure to pit myself against him and when I finish my career it’s something I can look back on and know I’ve tested myself against the very best." - John Terry.
"In my entire life I have never seen a player of such quality and personality at such a young age, particularly wearing the ‘heavy’ shirt of one of the world’s great clubs." - Fabio Capello.
"I am not crazy enough to compare myself with Messi because he is the best there ever was and the best there will ever be." - Mario Gomez.
"I was a big fan of Maradona growing up and of the current crop Ronaldo is good but Messi is the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t dish out praise lightly but Messi deserves it. I look for weaknesses in his game and I can’t find them." - Roy Keane.
Interests
Favorite color: red.
Favorite food: Escalope Milanese, Salad.
Favorite movie: Baby's day out.
Favorite TV-show: Primicias.
Writers
Jorge Luis Borge, Messi likes his book El Martin Fierro.
Sport & Clubs
football, handball
Athletes
Pablo Aimar
Music & Bands
Favorite muisc is cumbia.
Favorite musician is Sergio Torres.
Connections
Messi has had quite a couple of romantic associations before he got steady with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo. He was first linked with Macarena Lemos, a female from his hometown Rosario, whom Messi was introduced to by the former’s father while he was recovering from his injury before the 2006 World Cup. He is even said to have shared a love bond with Argentine glamour model Luciana Salazar.
Messi was first seen with his wife Roccuzzo at a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. A fellow native of Rosario, Roccuzzo gave birth to their first child, Thiago on November 2, 2012 and second child Mateo, on September 11, 2015.
After several years of being in a relationship with Roccuzzo, he married her on 30 June 2017. Their wedding was held at a luxury hotel named Hotel City Center in Rosario.