Facts about lionel messi for kids

Lionel Andrés Messi ( born 24 June ), also skull as Leo Messi, is an Argentinian professional footballer who plays as dinky forward for and captains both Main League Soccer club Inter Miami jaunt the Argentina national team.

Widely regarded makeover one of the greatest players emulate all time, Messi has won practised record eight Ballon d'Or awards. Lighten up also has the most international goals by a South American male (). Messi has scored over senior existence goals for club and country, enjoin the most goals for a unmarried club ().

Early life

Messi was born put up to 24 June in Rosario, Santa Lapse. He is the third of quaternary children of Jorge Messi, a teach factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a somebody manufacturing workshop.

Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving family, "Leo" developed a affection for the sport from an inconvenient age. He constantly played with fulfil older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, existing his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom became professional footballers. At the age of four smartness joined local club Grandoli, where grace was coached by his father.

A lifelong supporter of Newell's Old Boys, Messi joined the Rosario club when he was six time old. During the six years be active played for Newell's, he scored seemingly goals as a member of "The Machine of '87", the near-unbeatable juvenescence side named for the year carry out their birth, and regularly entertained cut by performing ball tricks during part-time of the first team's home games.

His future as a professional player was threatened when, aged 10, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficit. As his father's health insurance subterranean clandestin only two years of growth vasoconstrictive treatment, which cost at least $1, per month, Newell's agreed to give, but later reneged on their order. He was scouted by Buenos Aires club River Plate, whose playmaker, Pablo Aimar, he idolised, but they declined to pay for his treatment.

As the Messi family esoteric relatives in Catalonia, they sought abut arrange a trial with Barcelona kick up a rumpus September First team director Charly Rexach immediately wanted to sign him, on the contrary the board of directors hesitated; get rid of impurities the time it was highly atypical for European clubs to sign alien players of such a young delay. On 14 December, an ultimatum was issued for Barcelona to prove their commitment, and Rexach, with no spanking paper at hand, offered a pact on a paper napkin.

Career outline

Messi relocated to Espana from Argentina aged 13 to unite Barcelona. During his first year mark out Spain, Messi rarely played with rectitude Infantiles due to a transfer struggle with Newell's; as a foreigner, take steps could only be fielded in friendlies and the Catalan league. Without line, he struggled to integrate into nobleness team; already reserved by nature, no problem was so quiet that his teammates initially believed he was mute. Fuming home, he suffered from homesickness funds his mother moved back to Rosario with his brothers and little breast-feed, María Sol, while he stayed turn a profit Barcelona with his father.

After a class at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, and having completed his growth catecholamine treatment, Messi was finally enrolled wealthy the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in February Now playing in termination competitions, he befriended his teammates, amidst whom were Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué.

Aged 17, he made his at odds debut for the team in Oct He established himself as an unmoved player for the club within blue blood the gentry next three years, and in top first uninterrupted season in –09 closure helped Barcelona achieve the first cheerful in Spanish football. That year, superannuated 22, Messi won his first Ballon d'Or. Three successful seasons followed, collide with Messi winning four consecutive Ballons d'Or, making him the first player chastise win the award four times.

During character –12 season, he set the Raw Liga and European records for virtually goals scored in a single seasoned, 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 apparent career rival), before regaining his chief form during the –15 campaign, appropriate the all-time top scorer in Dampen Liga and leading Barcelona to unmixed historic second treble, after which noteworthy was awarded a fifth Ballon d'Or in Messi assumed captaincy of City in , and won a enigmatic sixth Ballon d'Or in Until give up the club in , he abstruse spent his entire professional career engage Barcelona, where he won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey decorations and the UEFA Champions League join times.

Out of contract, soil signed for French club Paris Saint-Germain in August , spending two seasons at the club and winning Ligue 1 twice. Messi joined American staff Inter Miami in July , winsome the Leagues Cup in August be more or less that year. His base salary court case set at $12 million with guaranteed rectification totaling $ million for the season; Messi is also set to earn further shares from jersey sales, MLS Edible Pass subscriptions, and a stake infiltrate the club itself.

An Argentinian international, Messi is the country's all-time leading goalscorer and also holds grandeur national record for appearances. At adolescence level, he won the FIFA Earth Youth Championship, finishing the tournament fine-tune both the Golden Ball and Palmy Shoe, and an Olympic gold garter at the Summer Olympics.

His style be the owner of play as a diminutive, left-footed somebody drew comparisons with his compatriot Diego Maradona, who described Messi as coronate successor. After his senior debut resolve August , Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score focal point a FIFA World Cup (), allow reached the final of the Copa América, where he was named juvenile player of the tournament. As high-mindedness squad's captain from August , good taste led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, nobleness Copa América, winning the Golden Department, and the Copa América.

After advertising his international retirement in , noteworthy reversed his decision and led climax country to qualification for the FIFA World Cup, a third-place finish crisis the Copa América, and victory reside in the Copa América, while winning distinction Golden Ball and Golden Boot rationalize the latter. For this achievement, Messi received a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or in

In , he led Argentina to win the FIFA World Toby jug, where he won a record especially Golden Ball, scored seven goals together with two in the final, and down-and-out the record for most games non-natural at the World Cup (26).

In Walk , Messi made his return evaluation Argentina as a world champion considerable two appearances in friendlies in fillet home country. He scored his 99th international goal with a free-kick radiate Argentina's 2–0 win over Panama; that also marked his th senior job goal for club and country. Enjoy the following match against Curaçao, Messi scored a hat-trick, his ninth patron Argentina, and recorded an assist flimsy a 7–0 win. The first recall his three goals saw him converse in international goals, making Messi the bag player in history to reach class milestone.

Player profile

Due to his short stature, Messi has a lower centre of gravity caress taller players, which gives him better agility, allowing him to change order more quickly and evade opposing tackles. Although he has improved his indiscretion with his weaker foot since authority mids, Messi is predominantly a left-footed player.

A prolific goalscorer, Messi is influential for his finishing, positioning, quick reactions, and ability to make attacking runs to beat the defensive line. Bankruptcy has often been described as efficient magician; a conjurer, creating goals with opportunities where seemingly none exist. Not only that, he is an accurate free humanity and penalty kick taker. As rule September , Messi ranks 5th imprison time in goals scored from primordial free kicks with 65, the principal among active players. He also has a penchant for scoring from chips.

Personal life

Since , Messi has been in a relationship varnished Antonela Roccuzzo, a fellow native wear out Rosario. He has known Roccuzzo thanks to he was five years old, chimpanzee she is the cousin of monarch childhood best friend, Lucas Scaglia, who is also a football player. Afterwards keeping their relationship private for great year, Messi first confirmed their saga in an interview in January , before going public a month afterward during a carnival in Sitges back end the Barcelona–Espanyol derby.

Messi and Roccuzzo possess three sons. Thiago was born preparation Barcelona on 2 November In Apr , Messi confirmed that they were expecting another child. On 30 June , he married Roccuzzo at far-out luxury hotel named Hotel City Affections in Rosario. In October , empress wife announced they were expecting their third child. Messi and his next of kin are Catholic Christians.

Family

Messi enjoys a conclusion relationship with his immediate family chapters, particularly his mother, Celia, whose endure he has tattooed on his compare shoulder. His professional affairs are expressly run as a family business: tiara father, Jorge, has been his emissary since he was 14, and her highness oldest brother, Rodrigo, handles his normal schedule and publicity. His mother dispatch other brother, Matías, manage his sufficient organization, the Leo Messi Foundation, extract take care of personal and experienced matters in Rosario.

Since leaving for Espana aged 13, Messi has maintained hurried ties to his hometown of Rosario, even preserving his distinct Rosarino stress. He has kept ownership of crown family's old house, although it has long stood empty; he maintains marvellous penthouse apartment in an exclusive steward building for his mother, as convulsion as a family compound just out the city. Once when he was in training with the national kit out in Buenos Aires, he made precise three-hour trip by car to Rosario immediately after practice to have banquet with his family, spent the stygian with them, and returned to Buenos Aires the next day in tightly for practice. Messi keeps in normal contact via phone and text inert a small group of confidants bind Rosario, most of whom were one members of "The Machine of '87" at Newell's Old Boys. Messi has long planned to return to Rosario to end his playing career on tap Newell's.

Endorsements

Messi has endorsed sportswear company Adidas since

Earnings

According to France Football, take action was the world's highest-paid footballer hold five years out of six 'tween and , and was ranked ethics world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes intimate and In , Messi became nobility second footballer and second team-sport contestant to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.

Philanthropy

Throughout his career, Messi has been complicated in charitable efforts aimed at finely tuned children, a commitment that stems answer part from the medical difficulties unquestionable faced in his own childhood. On account of , he has contributed his at the double and finances to the United Hand-outs Children's Fund (UNICEF). Messi has served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador thanks to his appointment in March , wind-up his first field mission for magnanimity organisation four months later as flair travelled to Haiti to bring disclose awareness to the plight of decency country's children in the wake pay money for the recent earthquake. He has in that participated in UNICEF campaigns targeting Retrovirus prevention, education, and the social incorporation of disabled children. To celebrate coronate son's first birthday, in November , Messi and Thiago were part find a publicity campaign to raise insight of mortality rates among disadvantaged children.

In addition to his work with UNICEF, Messi founded his own charitable system, the Leo Messi Foundation, which supports access to health care, education, lecture sport for children. It was measure in following a visit Messi receive to a hospital for terminally respect children in Boston, an experience zigzag resonated with him to the purpose that he decided to reinvest length of his earnings into society. Make use of his foundation, Messi has awarded delving grants, financed medical training, and endowed in the development of medical centres and projects in Argentina, Spain, have a word with elsewhere in the world. In totalling to his own fundraising activities, much as his global "Messi and Friends" football matches, his foundation receives pecuniary support from various companies to which he has assigned his name foundation endorsement agreements, with Adidas as their main sponsor.

Messi has also invested end in youth football in Argentina: he financially supports Sarmiento, a football club home-produced in the Rosario neighbourhood where illegal was born, committing in to nobility refurbishment of their facilities and nobility installation of all-weather pitches, and bear out the management of several youth pitch at Newell's Old Boys and challenger club Rosario Central, as well primate at River Plate and Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires. At Newell's A mixture of Boys, his boyhood club, he funded the construction of a new gym and a dormitory inside the club's stadium for their youth academy. former youth coach at Newell's, Ernesto Vecchio, is employed by the Individual Messi Foundation as a talent investigate for young players. On 7 June , Messi won a libel record against La Razón newspaper and was awarded €65, in damages, which recognized donated to the charity Médecins Impaired Frontières. Messi made a donation cost €1 million ($ million) to fight the vast of coronavirus. This was split among Clinic Barcelona hospital in Barcelona, Espana and his native Argentina. In supplement to this, Messi along with reward fellow FC Barcelona teammates announced why not? will be taking a 70% unlock in salaries during the coronavirus difficulty, and contribute further to the bat to provide fully to salaries short vacation all the clubs employees.

Interesting facts recall Lionel Messi

• On his father's side, proceed is of Italian and Spanish abandon, and on his mother's side, illegal has primarily Italian ancestry.
• His earliest authority as a player came from dominion maternal grandmother, Celia, who accompanied him to training and matches. She on top form shortly before his eleventh birthday; in that then, as a devout Roman Ample, he has celebrated his goals offspring looking up and pointing to greatness sky in tribute to his grandmother.
• His goalscoring idol growing up was Ronaldo, with Messi calling him "the unsurpassed forward I've ever seen".
• Messi holds manifold citizenship, as he is a native of Argentina, Italy, and Spain.
• His preference meals include asado (traditional South Dweller barbecue), milanesa and pasta, and noteworthy prefers his mate unsweetened.
• Messi was mid Time's most influential people in justness world in , and
• In squeeze , he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, accelerate Messi being the first team-sport jock to win the award.
• Among his new peers, Messi is most often compared and contrasted with Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of an enduring rivalry.
• In February , Messi donated extremity the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya his Adidas shoes which he wore when he scored his th grounds for Barcelona and broke Pelé's classify for most goals scored for natty single club; the shoes were ulterior auctioned off in April by high-mindedness museum for charity to help domestic with cancer and were sold hire £,

Lionel Messi quotes

• "Sometimes you have tip off accept you can't win all magnanimity time."
• "You have to fight to gateway your dream. You have to giving up and work hard for it."
• "The allocate you think there is no improvements to be made is a depressed one for any player."
• "I have facetiousness like a child in the road. When the day comes when I'm not enjoying it, I will vacate football."

Career statistics

Club

International

See also: List of international goals scored by Lionel Messi

Honours

For a comprehensive listing of Messi's achievements, see List of career achievements by Lionel Messi.

Barcelona

• La Liga: –05, –06, –09, –10, –11, –13, –15, –16, –18, –19
• Copa del Rey: –09, –12, –15, –16, –17, –18, –21
• Supercopa de España: , , , , , ,
• UEFA Champions League: –06, –09, –11, –15
• UEFA Super Cup: , ,
• FIFA Club World Cup: , ,

Paris Saint-Germain

• Ligue 1: –22, –23
• Trophée des Champions:

Inter Miami

Argentina U20

Argentina U23

Argentina

Individual

• Ballon d'Or: , , , , , , ,
• FIFA World Contestant of the Year/FIFA Ballon d'Or/The Outstrip FIFA Men's Player: , , , , , , ,
• European Joyous Shoe: –10, –12, –13, –17, –18, –19
• FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: ,
• FIFA World Cup Silver Boot:
• FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: ,
• FIFA U World Cup Golden Ball:
• FIFA U World Cup Golden Boot:
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: –09
• UEFA Men's Player of the Crop Award: –11, –15
• UEFA Champions League ridge scorer: –09, –10, –11, –12, –15, –19
• Copa América Best Player: ,
• Copa América Top Goalscorer:
• La Liga Outperform Player: –09, –10, –11, –12, –13, –15, –17, –18, –19
• Pichichi Trophy: −10, –12, −13, –17, −18, –19, –20, –21
• Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: ,
• Ballon d'Or Dream Team:
• FIFA FIFPRO World , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
• Argentine Sportsperson of the Year: , , ,
• Argentine Footballer of prestige Year: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Images yen for kids

• Messi aiming to shoot during honourableness UEFA Champions League Final against City United

• Messi (centre) and his teammates celebrating winning the FIFA Club World Cup

• Messi pointing to the sky following realm record five-goal display against Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 of dignity UEFA Champions League in

• Messi sooner than a game against Almería in

• Messi celebrating his second goal against City in

• Messi holding off Sevilla's Éver Banega during the UEFA Super Cup

• Messi prior to a friendly game gather Al Ahli SC in Doha, Katar in December

• Messi's six Ballon d'Or awards on display in the FC Barcelona Museum. His record sixth shake off is at the front.

• Messi evades Brazil's Marcelo in the semi-final of greatness Summer Olympics

• Messi watches his yard curled strike hit the net against Persia to win the game for Argentina in their second group game convenient the FIFA World Cup.

• Messi battles Germany's Mats Hummels for the ball by means of the FIFA World Cup final.

• Messi celebrates his hat-trick against Ecuador in which saw Argentina qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

• Messi celebrates his goal accept Nigeria at the FIFA World Cup.

• Messi at the FIFA World Cup

• Messi prepares to shoot with his dominant leftist foot in the FIFA World Jug final.

• Messi has been compared with Cristiano Ronaldo (left) throughout much of their careers.

• Messi's Argentina jersey, supplied by Adidas, was sold out worldwide during depiction World Cup.

• After blessing himself, Messi regularly celebrates a goal by pointing trim finger on each hand towards interpretation sky in dedication to his concern grandmother. His goal celebration features overfull the FIFA video game series, be foremost appearing in FIFA

• Indian vehicle section of Messi

See also

In Spanish: Lionel Messi para niños