Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team. By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and again in 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010–11UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals.
Consistently rated by commentators, coaches and colleagues as the best footballer in the world and as one of the greatest players in the history of the game, Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, which he won consecutively. Messi has won five La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de España, three Champions Leagues, two Super Cups and two Club World Cups. In March 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, achieving the feat in a 7–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. He also matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season. Messi became the first player to top-score in four successive Champions League campaigns. He set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals.
Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals. 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 which he was elected young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team. Sportspro has rated Lionel Messi as the third most marketable athlete in the world. His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".
Honours
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
- Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12; Runner-up 2010–11
- Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011; Runner-up 2012
- UEFA Champions League: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
- UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011; Runner-up 2006
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011
Runner-up:
Third place:
Individual
- FIFA Ballon d'Or (3): 2010, 2011, 2012. Created in 2010.
- Ballon d'Or (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2009.
- FIFA World Player of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2009.
- World Soccer Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008.
- World Soccer Player of the Year (3): 2009, 2011, 2012.
- Onze d'Or (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
- IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer (2): 2011, 2012.[276]
- IFFHS World's best Top Division Goal Scorer (1): 2012.[277]
- Goal.com Player of the Year (2): 2009, 2011.
- El País King of European Soccer (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.[278]
- ESPY Best International Athlete (1): 2012.
- European Golden Shoe (2): 2010, 2012.
- UEFA Best Player in Europe Award (1): 2011. Created in 2011.
- UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2010.
- UEFA Team of the Year (5): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
- UEFA Champions League Top Goalscorer (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
- UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2010.
- UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match (1): 2011.
- FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament (1): 2005.
- FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Goalscorer (1): 2005.
- FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball (2): 2009, 2011.
- FIFA FIFPro World XI (6): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
- FIFPro World Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008.
- ESM Team of the Year (6): 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12.
- Pichichi Trophy (2): 2010, 2012.
- Copa del Rey Top Goalscorer (1): 2010–2011.
- La Liga Player of the Year (3): 2009, 2010, 2011.
- La Liga Foreign Player of the Year (3): 2007, 2009, 2010. Ceased to exist in 2010.
- La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year (5): 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
- LFP Best Player (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
- LFP Best Forward (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
- Marca Leyenda (1): 2009.
- Bravo Award (1): 2007.
- Copa América Young Player of the Tournament (1): 2007.
- European Golden Boy (1): 2005.
- Olimpia de Oro (1): 2011.
- Olimpia de Plata (7): 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
World
- Most FIFA Ballon d'Or awards: 4
- Guinness World Records title for the most goals in a year: 91 goals
- Most international goals in a year (club and national team): 25 goals (shared with Vivian Woodward)
- Most goals scored in FIFA Club World Cup: 4 goals (held jointly with Denilson and Mohamed Aboutrika)
- Most goals scored in a season (club): 73 goals
- Most goals scored in a year (club): 79 goals
- Most goals scored in a European Cup season: 14 goals (held jointly with José Altafini)
- Most European Cup top scorer awards: 4 (shared with Gerd Müller)
- Highest scorer in a European Cup game: 5 goals (held jointly with ten other players)
- Most goals scored in a year (national team): 12 goals (shared with Batistuta)
- Most goals scored in La Liga in a season: 50 goals
- Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8 hat-tricks
- Most goals scored in the Supercopa de España: 10 goals
- Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in: 12 matches
- Top scorer in official competitions: 298 goals
- Top scorer in La Liga: 203 goals
- Top scorer in UEFA Champions League: 56 goals
- Top scorer in European competitions: 57 goals
- Top scorer in international competitions: 61 goals
- Most all competitions hat-tricks overall: 22 hat-tricks
- Most La Liga hat-tricks overall: 16 hat-tricks
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