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Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team as a forward or winger. Considered one of the best football players of his generation,^[4][5][6] 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. He also won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or at the age of 23.^[11] His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".

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 his team record for the youngest footballer 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 Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in the 2006–07 season; he became a first teamregular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Messi then had the most successful season of his playing career, the 2008–09 season, in which he scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble-winning campaign. This record breaking season was then eclipsed in the following 2009–10 campaign, where Messi scored 47 goals in all competitions, equalling Ronaldo's record total for Barcelona. He surpassed this record in the 2010–11 season.

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.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

Under–20

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.^[196][197]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 June 2005	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands	Egypt	1–0	2–0	2005 World Youth Championship
2	22 June 2005	Univé Stadion, Emmen, Netherlands	Colombia	1–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
3	24 June 2005	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands	Spain	3–1	3–1	2005 World Youth Championship
4	28 June 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Brazil	1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
5	2 July 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
6	2 July 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	2–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship

Under–23

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	7 August 2008	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	Côte d'Ivoire	1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics
2	16 August 2008	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	Netherlands	1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics

Senior team

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1 March 2006	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Croatia	2–1	2–3	Friendly
2	16 June 2006	WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	6–0	6–0	2006 World Cup
3	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	2–2	4–3	Friendly
4	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	4–2	4–3	Friendly
5	8 July 2007	Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara, Barquisimeto, Venezuela	Peru	2–0	4–0	2007 Copa América
6	11 July 2007	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Mexico	2–0	3–0	2007 Copa América
7	16 October 2007	José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qualification
8	20 November 2007	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia	1–0	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
9	4 June 2008	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States	Mexico	2–0	4–1	Friendly
10	11 October 2008	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Uruguay	1–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualification
11	11 February 2009	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	France	2–0	2–0	Friendly
12	28 March 2009	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
13	14 November 2009	Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain	Spain	1–1	1–2	Friendly
14	7 September 2010	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Spain	1–0	4–1	Friendly
15	17 November 2010	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Brazil	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16	9 February 2011	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Portugal	2–1	2–1	Friendly

Awards and honours

Club

Barcelona :

La Liga: 4 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 Copa del Rey: 1 2009 Supercopa de España: 4 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 UEFA Champions League: 2 2006, 2009 UEFA Super Cup: 1 2009 FIFA Club World Cup: 1 2009 Argentina FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1 2005 Olympic Gold Medal: 1 2008  

Individual