Legendary Argentine football player Lionel Messi, often called “the greatest football player of all time”, celebrates his 37th birthday on Monday. Messi, born in Rosario, Argentina, in 1987, recently won his eighth Ballon d’Or, setting a new record. The next player is Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won five Ballon d’Or awards. At age 13, Messi’s family moved with him to Barcelona, where the club helped him treat growth hormone deficiency. The Argentine began his career with FC Barcelona’s under-14 team. He quickly rose through the ranks, leaving an impression on everyone with his extraordinary talent and skills.
He made his senior debut at the club at the age of 17, against Espanyol, and the Blaugranas (another name for FC Barcelona) trusted him a lot. The 37-year-old became the team’s youngest star to compete in the competition at the time.
Messi played for the Spanish club for 17 years, during which time he won 10 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League titles and 7 Copa del Rey medals. He scored an impressive 474 goals in La Liga, becoming the club’s top scorer. all time in the league.
Messi surprised the whole world by imitating Diego Maradona’s goal of the century in 2007. In a match against Getafe, at Camp Nou, during the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, the footballer dribbled past six Getage defenders to score the goal.
In 2009, Messi won his first UEFA Champions League title. Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the final with a score of 2-0. In the final, the captain of the Argentine football team scored a header in this match.
In Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid in 2020, Lionel Messi scored his 644th goal. Messi broke the record for most goals scored by a single club by doing so. Pelé, the legendary Brazilian who scored 643 goals for Santos FC, held the previous record.
The Argentine national player joined French 1st League club Paris Saint-Germain and played for the club from 2021-2023. He played a total of 58 matches where he managed to score 22 goals from the wing.
In 2023, Messi joined Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham. To date, he has played 18 matches and scored 13 goals.
August 2005 was Messi’s first international appearance. He replaced an injured player against Hungary. However, his tragic international debut was short-lived as he was sent off minutes after hitting Vilmos Vanczak.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Messi’s Argentine team took home the gold medal. To help Albiceleste (another name for Argentina) win their second consecutive Olympic gold, Messi set up the winning goal. In the final, they defeated Nigeria 1-0.
In the 2021 Copa América final, Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0, playing at the Maracanã Stadium. With this victory, Messi’s long quest for his first significant international championship came to an end.
The FIFA World Cup trophy that Lionel Messi won in Qatar in 2022 was the highlight of his career. In the championship match, Messi scored twice against France. After a gap of 36 years, Argentina became world champions in the penalty shootout.
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