Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi wins record 6th Ballon d'Or,

Lionel Andrés Messi; born 24 June 1987, also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192), a La Liga season (21) and the Copa América (17). He also holds the record for most international goals by a South American male (81). Messi has scored over 750 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club.

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi relocated to Spain to join Barcelona at age 13, for whom he made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. He established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, and in his first uninterrupted season in 2008–09 he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football; that year, aged 22, Messi won his first Ballon d'Or. Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning four consecutive Ballons d'Or, making him the first player to win the award four times and in a row.[10] During the 2011–12 season, he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season, while establishing himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. The following two seasons, Messi finished second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo (his perceived career rival), before regaining his best form during the 2014–15 campaign, becoming the all-time top scorer in La Liga and leading Barcelona to a historic second treble, after which he was awarded a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. Messi assumed captaincy of Barcelona in 2018, and in 2019 he won a record sixth Ballon d'Or. Out of contract, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021.

An Argentine international, Messi is both his country's highest appearance-maker and their all-time leading goalscorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, finishing the tournament with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with his compatriot Diego Maradona, who described Messi as his successor. After his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup in 2006, and reached the final of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named young player of the tournament. As the squad's captain from August 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, and the 2015 and 2016 Copa América, winning the Golden Ball in the 2015 edition. After announcing his international retirement in 2016, he reversed his decision and led his country to qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a third-place finish at the 2019 Copa América, and won the 2021 Copa América, while winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot award for the latter. This achievement would see him receive a record seventh Ballon d'Or in 2021.

Messi has endorsed sportswear company Adidas since 2006. According to France Football, he was the world's highest-paid footballer for five years out of six between 2009 and 2014, and was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2019. Messi was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011 and 2012. In February 2020, he was awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, thus becoming the first footballer and the first team sport athlete to win the award. Later that year, Messi became the second footballer (and second team-sport athlete) to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.

1X THE BEST FIFA MEN'S PLAYER

2019

7X WINNER BALLON D'OR

2021

2019

2015

2012

2011

2010

2009

3X UEFA BEST PLAYER IN EUROPE

2015

2011

2009

22X TOP SCORER

20/21		Copa América 2021 - 4 Goals
20/21		LaLiga - 30 Goals
19/20		LaLiga - 25 Goals
18/19		UEFA Champions League - 12 Goals
18/19		LaLiga - 36 Goals
17/18		LaLiga - 34 Goals
16/17		Copa del Rey
16/17		LaLiga - 37 Goals
15/16		Copa del Rey - 5 Goals
14/15		UEFA Champions League - 10 Goals
13/14		Copa del Rey - 5 Goals
12/13		LaLiga - 46 Goals
11/12		UEFA Champions League - 14 Goals
11/12		LaLiga - 50 Goals
10/11		FIFA Club World Cup
10/11		Copa del Rey
10/11		UEFA Champions League - 12 Goals
09/10		LaLiga - 34 Goals
09/10		UEFA Champions League - 8 Goals
08/09		Copa del Rey - 6 Goals
08/09		UEFA Champions League - 9 Goals
04/05		U20-Weltmeisterschaft 2005 - 6 Goals

10X PLAYER OF THE YEAR

18/19		LaLiga
17/18		LaLiga
16/17		LaLiga
14/15		LaLiga
12/13		LaLiga
11/12		LaLiga
10/11		LaLiga
09/10		LaLiga
08/09		LaLiga
08/09		UEFA Champions League

4X TM-PLAYER OF THE SEASON

2021		Spain
2020		Spain
2019		Spain
2018		Spain

3X FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP WINNER

2015		FC Barcelona
2011		FC Barcelona
2009		FC Barcelona

1X COPA AMÉRICA WINNER

20/21

Argentina

4X CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNER

14/15		FC Barcelona
10/11		FC Barcelona
08/09		FC Barcelona
05/06		FC Barcelona

10X SPANISH CHAMPION

18/19		FC Barcelona
17/18		FC Barcelona
15/16		FC Barcelona
14/15		FC Barcelona
12/13		FC Barcelona
10/11		FC Barcelona
09/10		FC Barcelona
08/09		FC Barcelona
05/06		FC Barcelona
04/05		FC Barcelona