Everything You Need To Know About Lionel Messi, The Best Soccer Player On Earth

                        

"Leo" was born in Rosario, Argentina and is the son of Jorge Horacio Messi, a factory worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner. His father is of Italian descent. His ancestors immigrated to Argentina in the late 19th century.

He has two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matias, and a sister, Maria Sol.

                       
Messi has been playing soccer since he was a little boy. He played on a team coached by his father and was soon recruited to join the Newell's Old Boys soccer club.
However, he was noticeably smaller than the other boys his age and was eventually diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency.
His parents put him on a regiment of growth hormone injections, but it was very expensive and his parents could not afford to continue treatment.

                       

 By the time he was 13, Barcelona offered him a spot in its youth academy. They would also pay the bills for his growth-hormone treatment, but he would have to move from Argentina to Spain so the Messi family picked from Argentina and moved to Europe.

                   
Messi made his official debut for Barcelona when he was just 17
After moving quickly through Barcelona's C and B teams, Messi made his unofficial debut with the top team during a friendly match at the age of 16.
Messi made his official debut when he was 17, and at the age of 17 years, 10 months and seven days, he scored his first goal, becoming the youngest to ever score a goal for Barcelona (the record was recently broken by Bojan).


                
However, when it comes to the World Cup, Messi still plays for his home country.
Messi was granted Spanish citizenship in 2005, and many people thought he might play for Spain in the World Cup.

However, he still has a very strong connection with his home country, and decided to play for Argentina's team in the World Cup.


              
At 5'7," Messi's stats stand out more than he does.
Messi scored 73 goals during his 2012 European club season, breaking a 39-year-old record.
He is also the only player to ever score five goals in a single Champions League match.
He is a natural lefty, but can score with either foot.

              
In January, he became the first player to ever wil the Ballon d'Or for four years straight.
The Ballon d'Or is the highest honor in soccer, and in January, Messi won the award for the best male soccer player.

                   
Soccer has made him a wealthy man.
In February he signed a contract extension for $21.2 million with Barcelona through 2018.
He earns millions more in endorsements from Adidas and other companies.
He recently starred in a Turkish Airlines commercial with Kobe Bryant.


                   
Messi is passionate about giving back.

In 2007 he created the Fundacion Leo Messi, which has a mission to improve access to education and health care for children.
He has also donated to hospitals, both to improve facilities and to better train doctors.
He is also a UNICEF ambassador.

                  
Messi has been dating Antonella Rouccuzzo for years. Rouccuzzo and Messi met as young children in Argentina.
The couple welcomed their first son, Thiago, into the world in November 2012.

                  
Messi was spotted wearing an engagement ring at the Champion's League selection ceremony.

The tradition in Argentina is to wear a silver ring when you are engaged, and switch to a gold ring once you have been wed, so it looks like Messi and Rouccuzzo may be planning to tie the knot soon.

                 
Messi has scored more than 300 goals for Barcelona. Here's a beauty from a recent game versus AC Milan



Honours
Barcelona
La Liga (5): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
Copa del Rey (2): 2008–09, 2011–12
Supercopa de España (5): 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
UEFA Champions League (3): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
UEFA Super Cup (2): 2009, 2011
FIFA Club World Cup (2): 2009, 2011
Argentina
Olympic Gold Medal: 2008
FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005

Runner-up:
Copa America: 2007

Third place:
U20 South American Youth Championship: 2005
Individual
FIFA Ballon d'Or (3): 2010, 2011, 2012. Created in 2010.
Ballon d'Or (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2009.
FIFA World Player of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2009.
World Soccer Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008.
World Soccer Player of the Year (3): 2009, 2011, 2012.
Onze d'Or (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer (2): 2011, 2012.[298]
IFFHS World's best Top Division Goal Scorer (1): 2012.[299]
Goal.com Player of the Year (2): 2009, 2011.
El País King of European Soccer (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.[300]
ESPY Best International Athlete (1): 2012.
European Golden Shoe (2): 2010, 2012.
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award (1): 2011. Created in 2011.
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2010.
UEFA Team of the Year (5): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
UEFA Champions League Top Goalscorer (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2010.
UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match (1): 2011.
FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament (1): 2005.
FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Goalscorer (1): 2005.
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball (2): 2009, 2011.
FIFA FIFPro World XI (6): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
FIFPro World Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008.
ESM Team of the Year (6): 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12.
Pichichi Trophy (2): 2010, 2012.
Copa del Rey Top Goalscorer (1): 2010–2011.
La Liga Player of the Year (3): 2009, 2010, 2011.
La Liga Foreign Player of the Year (3): 2007, 2009, 2010. Ceased to exist in 2010.
La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year (5): 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
LFP Best Player (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
LFP Best Forward (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
Marca Leyenda (1): 2009.
Bravo Award (1): 2007.
Copa América Young Player of the Tournament (1): 2007.
European Golden Boy (1): 2005.
Olimpia de Oro (1): 2011.
Olimpia de Plata (7): 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.[301]
RecordsAs of 2 April 2013.[5][302][303][304][305][306][307][308]
World
Most FIFA Ballon d'Or awards: 4
Guinness World Records title for the most goals in a year: 91 goals
Most international goals in a year (club and national team): 25 goals (shared with Vivian Woodward)
Most goals scored in FIFA Club World Cup: 4 goals (held jointly with Denilson and Mohamed Aboutrika)
Most consecutive league matches scored in: 19 matches (30 goals)
Europe
Most goals scored in a season (club): 73 goals
Most goals scored in a year (club): 79 goals
Most goals scored in a European Cup season: 14 goals (held jointly with José Altafini)
Most European Cup top scorer awards: 4 (shared with Gerd Müller)
Highest scorer in a European Cup game: 5 goals (held jointly with ten other players)
Argentina
Most goals scored in a year (national team): 12 goals (shared with Gabriel Batistuta)
Spain
Most goals scored in La Liga in a season: 50 goals
Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8 hat-tricks
Most goals scored in the Supercopa de España: 10 goals
Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in: 20 matches, 31 goals
Most goals scored in El Clásico matches: 18 goals (shared with Alfredo Di Stéfano)
Barcelona
Top scorer in official competitions: 311 goals
Top scorer in La Liga: 213 goals
Top scorer in UEFA Champions League: 59 goals
Top scorer in European competitions: 60 goals
Top scorer in international competitions: 64 goals
Most all competitions hat-tricks overall: 22 hat-tricks
Most La Liga hat-tricks overall: 16 hat-tricks