Messi Scoring goals and winning individual awards, as it ranks among the best in history, as it was nominated several times for the Golden Ball award.
His fame reached the horizons, and he contributed to making FC Barcelona one of the best football teams in the world, and he played with his country, Argentina, in the World Cup Championship, and dazzled the world with his playing skills, dribbling and scoring goals, and some compared him to the two stars Diego Maradona and Pele, and others considered him the best football player in the world. the scientist.
The 35-year-old Argentine striker, "The Flea", aspires to win the World Cup for the first time in the history of his football career, in his fifth participation in the World Cup, where he participated in 4 previous versions in the years 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018.
The captain of the "Tango" team and the French player Paris Saint-Germain confirmed that the final match against France in Qatar is the last match he will play in the World Cup, in order to win the first world title after he achieved all possible titles with his country and the clubs with which he participated.
Birth and upbringing
Lionel Andreas Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in the city of Rosary (the city of slums and rural homes) in Argentina, to a Catholic Christian family.
The family originates from the Italian town of Port Recanati, located in the state of Maserata.
He is the third child of Jorge Messi, head of a department in a steel factory, and coach of the local team of the city, and his mother is Celia Maria Cuccittini, a worker in a workshop that manufactures magnets.
Messi was very attached to his grandmother and was known for his strong love for her. After the goals he scored previously, he would raise his hands to her. His grandmother was almost the only one who believed in his abilities and talent despite his short stature and weak build, and she was the one who insisted on his family to buy him shoes to play football.
When asked about his best memories, he said, "The first time I went with my grandmother to play football," on the other hand, counting her death as one of the saddest moments of his life.
He knows that he likes to listen to quartet music (any musical work that four people participate in presenting through a band) and cumbia, and he also loves to play the guitar, and apart from football, he usually plays handball.
Messi's mother said that her son's favorite meal is chicken with sauce, in addition to his great love for chocolate, especially al-Fakhour (traditional caramel biscuits in Argentina), which she is keen to carry a lot of with her when she travels to Barcelona to meet him.
She added that her son's coach, when he was young, was preparing him for her in the event that he scored a goal.
In 2014, the Argentine province of Rosario issued a law prohibiting naming newborns after Messi, after large waves of requests to register newborns after Argentine football star Lionel Messi.
Study and formation
Messi's teacher, Monica Domina, who taught him the first three stages of elementary school at "Las Heras" school, confirmed that he was not diligent in studying, although his level was acceptable, as he faced difficulties in reading so that she had advised his mother to take him to a speech therapist, in return his level was improving somewhat. Little by little in the rest of the material.
She said, "He was a quiet, kind, shy child, and I had never seen a shy student like him throughout my career. He spoke little and did not initiate words, and he sat quietly in his seat at the back of the row." His classmates called him "Becky" (meaning the little fruit), because he He was the smallest of the students.
He also did not like languages or mathematics, but he was skilled in physical education and the arts, and stressed that if he was not a player, he would be a physical education teacher.
his personal life
In addition to Messi's football professionalism, Leo Messi was interested in charitable work, and established a charitable foundation in his name that works to secure education and health care for children, especially since he suffered when he was a child, and was appointed in March 2010 as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
In July 2016, a Spanish court issued a 21-month prison sentence against Messi and his father, Jorge, on charges of tax evasion, and fined him 3.7 million euros (about four million dollars at the time).
The trial began in late May 2016, and he and his father - who manages his financial affairs - were accused of tax evasion in the amount of four million euros (an estimated $4.5 million at the time) during the period between 2007 and 2009.
Tax authorities say the player and his father pretended to sell Messi's image rights to shell companies set up in the tax havens of Belize and Uruguay.
spherical start
Messi began playing in the streets of the neighborhood in which he resides with his father and two brothers since he was three years old, and the game was called in Argentina "playing dialogue" that includes dribbling and camouflage, and his father said about that moment, "We were amazed when we saw his abilities, it was that time The first time he plays football.
Messi's grandmother took his two older brothers every Tuesday and Thursday to a physical education center where Salvador Aparicio lives, who has trained hundreds of children in the area.
On one occasion, Messi accompanied his grandmother, and it happened that there was a lack of a player in the team that coach Salvador formed, and while Messi was kicking the ball in the stands, the grandmother offered the coach to give her grandson the opportunity to play, but the coach did not like that idea because of Messi’s small size, nevertheless she insisted She said, "Get him involved and you will see how skillful he is," and he replied, "I will put him near the sideline, and if he starts crying, you can take him out of the field yourself."
The coach recounted Messi's first experience, saying, "He was very young. I gave him the shirt and he wore it. Then the ball came to him for the first time and he looked at it...without moving a finger...but when the ball passed with his left foot he was able to control it, then he started running on the field; he dodged." everyone in front of him."
At that time, the grandmother was very excited and shouted, "Pass the ball to Leo, pass it to the little boy, he can score goals."
The "Grandoli Club" stadium (which was run by his father, George) was the first official stadium in which Messi played among players older than him, perhaps two or three years old, and although he was five years old, he showed ingenuity, speed, and ability to shoot in the first match he played.
Messi's father was watching his son's play from the stands and from the bench, and he said about him at the time, "I quickly realized that he was different and could be distinguished. He was always enthusiastic. Children change sometimes of course, but I was very sure that he would succeed."
In 1994 Messi joined the Cubs team in the “Newells Club” where his older brother Rodrigo plays, and the group in which he played was distinguished, as it did not lose only one match over the course of 4 years until it was popularly known as “87 Machines” (all team members were born in 1987 ).
Then he joined the "Newell's Old Boys" junior team until he joined the "River Plate" club, and during this period doctors discovered that he had a deficiency in bone hormones.
In 2000, Messi played at the age of 13, winning his tenth and final championship at Bella Vista, and his coach Adrian Correa had said about him that Messi's only defect was that he did not like exercises, and he preferred to be with the ball always.
And the newspaper "La Capitale" published the first interview with him in two pages, entitled "Lionel Andres Messi, a leper (the title of the Newell's Old Boys team) is small with great skills."
Talent vs. Therapy
Messi was noticeably shorter than most of the boys who were with him in the same age group, as his height did not exceed 1.27 meters.
At the age of 9 and a half, his father turned to an endocrinologist for his limited development, and he was playing in the youth teams at Newell's Club.
After more than a year of examinations, he was diagnosed with a hormonal deficiency that led to his growth stopping, so that the endocrinologist began in 1998 a special program for treatment with growth hormone through an injection under the skin daily for a period ranging from three to six years to complete his growth sufficiently, and he was able to increase his height from 140 to 170 centimeters.
Meanwhile, River Plate (one of the most famous Argentine clubs) was about to sign him, and when his medical condition was diagnosed, he was treated.
The club backed down because of the exorbitant treatment costs, estimated at $900 a month (100,000 US dollars annually).
The Catalan Kars Rexach (one of the club's representatives) was impressed by Messi's playing, so he offered him to join the club with a guarantee of his treatment. This deal is a bargain.
Then Messi moved with his family in 2000 to live in Barcelona when he was 13 years old.
Since then, the young striker with the number 10 has become a symbol of the Spanish team, and the Spanish player, Carlos Rechak, said about him, "I immediately caught my attention and as a symbolic gesture made him sign a napkin for the club." And it became an artifact.
In 2001, a final agreement was reached in another restaurant in Barcelona called Viavenite, and thus Messi was prepared, who appeared for the first time in 2003 against Port and the Portuguese team, and played his first match in 2004 against Espanyol in the Spanish League, and scored his first goal against the Albacete team.
Messi was the third youngest player to join the ranks of the Barcelona first team, and after his team’s match with Albacete in the 2004 and 2005 season, he became the youngest player to score in the history of the Catalan team, and he won with him in his first official season the League Cup 2005 and 2006, the Spanish Super Cup, and the European Champions League Cup in 2005. 2006.
Since then, he has not stopped winning with Barcelona and individual awards, including his coronation 7 times with the Golden Ball, and he played for the Catalan team for 17 seasons, scoring 474 goals in 520 matches, and making 216 goals.
Messi's contract with Barcelona expired from the beginning of July 2022, and on August 10 of the same year he joined the French club Paris Saint-Germain, for a period of two years, with the option to extend for an additional year.
Messi remained loyal to his first coach in Barcelona, where he said in a television interview, "Rijkaard chose me to train and play in the first team when I was sixteen years old, and if he had not made this decision, I would not have reached where I am now."
And Forbes magazine says that Messi earned more than a billion dollars during his professional career, making him the fourth athlete to achieve this.
He refused to play for Spain
He offered Messi to play for Spain when he was met by Genis Mitidez, the coach of the Spanish national team under the age of 16, in the city of Albacepte during the Spanish Cup, but he said, "No thanks," as he felt that he was Argentine despite living in the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe.
"He arrived to train with the youth team under the age of 20, and he was a shy, unknown boy, while his teammates were known in the local tournaments," said the Argentine coach, Tokali, at the time. "But his condition turned when he started training and playing and became completely different in matches."
His first appearance was in front of the Hungarian national team in 2005, and the first goal he scored was in 2006 against the Croatian national team, and his first match was in Argentina against Uruguay, and after he participated in the World Youth Championship under the age of 20, he became known around the world.
He participated in 6 copies of the Copa America, starting from the 2007 edition, and ending with the historic version of the Tang, which witnessed the first major international tournament for the former Barcelona star in 2021.
Messi, nicknamed the Magician, became the historic scorer for the Argentine national team, after scoring 96 goals and making 55 goals in 171 matches in all official tournaments, matches and friendly competitions.
On March 28, 2009, he officially participated with the Argentine national team for adults in the World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela, carrying No. 10, scoring the first goal, and scoring 47 goals in the 2009 and 2010 season, and the number rose in the following season to 53 goals.
In September 2015, Messi suffered an injury to the ligaments of his left knee, when he collided with Las Palmas player Daniel Castiano during a match in the sixth stage of the Spanish First Division, so the Catalan club announced that Messi would be out of action for about two months, which was considered a strong blow to the team, Especially since it came days after his Brazilian striker, Rafinha, was injured by the cruciate ligament, and he was also away for several months.
13 record numbers
Messi participated in 5 World Cups and was thus the first player to score in the World Cup in his teens, twenties and thirties, and he also became the third Argentine after Diego, Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta, to score in 3 different versions of the World Cup.
And he continues to break records in the Qatar World Cup 2022, after achieving 13 records in his country’s victory over Croatia and qualifying for the final match, where he played 25 matches (equating to the number of Lothar Matthaus, the former German player), including 3 matches in the World Cup Germany 2006, and 5 matches. In South Africa 2010, 7 matches in Brazil 2014, 4 matches in Russia 2018, and 6 matches in the World Cup Qatar 2022.
He was the only historic scorer for Argentina in the World Cup finals, with 11 goals, equaling Diego and Maradona's number, after making the third goal scored by Julian Alvarez against Croatia, and raising his tally to 8 assists.
He also became the oldest player to score 5 goals at the age of 35, and equaled with Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup top scorer.
And he became one of only 6 players to score in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the same edition of the World Cup, since the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.
He also contributed to the goals scored by his national team for the 13th match in the World Cup, and he was the player who contributed the most to goals during a different number of matches, equally with Brazilian Ronaldo de Lima.
Messi wore the armband of Argentina for the 18th match in the World Cup, surpassing former Mexico captain Rafael Marquez and Diego Maradona, who led 16 matches.
And he won the Man of the Match award for the ninth time in the World Cup, and he surpassed Portuguese Cristiano and Ronaldo, who won it 7 times.
He made 68 chances, surpassing the number of his compatriot Diego Maradona, who made 67 chances, and became the most player creating opportunities in the World Cup since the 1966 edition.
He is the player who has contributed the most goals in the knockout stages since 1966, with 5 goals, surpassing Edison Pele with 4 goals.
He also became the only player to provide assists in each of the five editions in which he participated, and the oldest player to score and assist in one match for Argentina in the World Cup finals.
Awards and achievements
Golden Boy Award in 2005.
Player of the Year Award in Argentina and Olympia de Plata Award 12 times in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Award in February and for the best young player in the world 3 times for the years 2006, 2007 and 2009.
Bravo award in 2007.
UEFA Team of the Season Award 11 times in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Alfred & De Stefan Award 6 times in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2017.
He won the Golden Ball award 7 times in the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.
The best player in the world in 2009.
UEFA Best Player Award 2009.
UEFA Best Striker Award twice, in 2009 and 2019.
The award for the best player in the Spanish League 8 times for the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019.
Best striker award in the Spanish League 7 times for the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016.
Top scorer in the King's Cup 5 times in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Top scorer in the Champions League 6 times for the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
Best player in the UEFA Champions League in 2009.
Best striker in the UEFA Champions League in 2009.
UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match, by public choice twice, in 2009 and 2011.
Golden Ball award in the FIFA Club World Cup twice, in 2009 and 2011.
Best player award in the Club World Cup final twice, in 2009 and 2011.
Pichichi Award 6 times for the years 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Top scorer in the Spanish League 7 times for the years 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In March 2010, France Football magazine ranked him at the top of the list of the richest footballers in the world, with 29 million pounds sterling.
Until the 2014-2015 football season, he won seven Spanish League titles and four Champions League titles with his Barcelona team.
European Golden Shoe 6 times in the years 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
2011 UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match.
2011 FIFA Club World Cup top scorer award.
Best scorer award in the world according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics twice, in 2011 and 2012.
Best player in Europe twice in 2011 and 2015.
The best soccer player in the world at the age of 22.
The third player to be the top scorer for three consecutive seasons in the European Club Cup.
Golden Boot award at the 2014 World Cup.
Golden Ball award in the Copa America in 2015.
UEFA Award for Best Goal of the Year 3 times for the years 2015, 2016 and 2019.
La Liga Team of the Season award twice, in 2015 and 2016.
Silver Ball Award in the Club World Cup 2015.
World Youth Championship under the age of twenty in 2016 with 6 goals.
FIFA Best Player Award 2019.
Guinness Book of Records
Most goals scored in one calendar year when he scored 91 goals in 2012.
The only player in the world who scored in 19 consecutive matches in the league competition, during which he scored 30 goals.
Championships with FC Barcelona
La Liga championship 10 times in seasons: 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2008-2009, 2009, 2010, 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 192018-20.
The King’s Cup of Spain 7 times in the seasons: 2008-2009, 2011-2012, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2020-2021.
The Spanish Super Cup 8 times in the years: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2018.
Champions League 4 times in seasons: 2005-2006, 2008-2009, 2010-2011 and 2014-2015.
European Super Cup 3 times in the years: 2009, 2011 and 2015.
Club World Cup 3 times in the years: 2009, 2011 and 2015.
with the Argentina national team
World Youth Championship under the age of 20 with the Argentina national team in 2005.
Gold medal at the 2008 Olympics with the Argentine national youth team under the age of 23.
Copa America Cup with the Argentina national team 2021.
They said about him
"Messi is so efficient in football that I think he could have been a professional even if he was 150 cm tall, because he is really a star," said Doctor Diegg and Schwarzstein, who diagnosed Messi with a growth hormone deficiency.
Cristiano Ronaldo said, "He is an amazing, magical player... We shared the scene for 16 years... What can I say about Messi? An amazing man who does amazing things in football."
Coach Guardiola "What does he represent to me and my career? Everything, everything, everything.. I felt what Phil Jackson felt with Michael Jordan because Leo Messi was with me, there are very few people who control their sport so easily, and without him we would have been Let's win too, but by that much? No way. For the World Cup, I hope he's in good physical shape, trains well and arrives strong."
اللاعب الراحل دييغو مارادونا "الآن بت أعرف من اللاعب الذي سيحل مكاني في كرة القدم، لديه شيء مختلف عن اللاعبين الآخرين، إنه قائد ومثال يحتذى به"
اللاعب جيرار بيكيه "الناس يسألوني غالباً كيف كان ميسي طيلة هذه الأعوام، إذا أردت شرح الأمر بجملة واحدة، سأقول: إنه كائن فضائي، ليس من هذا الكوكب. إنه اللاعب الوحيد الذي عندما رأيته يلعب لأول مرة وهو في الثالثة عشرة من عمره، قلت لنفسي: أوه، هذا الفتى ليس بشرياً، إنه فتاك، إنه أفضل ما رأيته في حياتي كلها. ما يجعله بهذه الجودة هو أنه غير مهتم بالاستعراض. عظمته تكمن في هوسه بالاستحواذ على الكرة، ووجهه عندما يركض لأخذ الكرة من مدافع. عندما أفكر في سحر ميسي، فهذا ليس بالشيء الذي يمكن العثور في يوتيوب. إنه تعبير حساس في عينيه، ولشرح عظمته، أحتاج إلى 5 آلاف كلمة".
النجم الإيطالي ماريو بالوتيلي "لا يوجد سوى شخص واحد أفضل مني بعض الشيء: اسمه ليونيل ميسي".
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez "Messi is the second best player in the world after Christian and Ronaldo, and it wouldn't be nice to see them in the same team."
Former Brazilian star Ronaldo, "Messi is great, he is an excellent player, but he will only become a legend when he shows his true colors with Argentina and wins the World Cup."
Former Spanish star Xavi Hernandez "He's the number one. He's the type of player who appears only once every thirty years."
Alex Ferguson, former Manchester United coach, "Messi is at the same level as Diego Maradona and Pele ... next to the best ever."
