Lionel Messi, a name in the athletic world that everyone knows. Whether a kid or an adult, Messi makes his space in everyone’s heart. Messi is popularly known as the “Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T)” for his exceptional gaming skills in football. Today, Messi is the World’s highest-paid athlete with an estimated net worth of $130 million. He plays for the national soccer team of Argentina and Barcelona as a forward. Messi also has Spanish nationality which means he can also play for the national team of Spain.

Lionel Messi and his Argentinian team won the FIFA World Cup 2022. In a recent tournament, Messi won the hearts of millions and also won the Golden Ball in the tournament. Let’s look at the story of G.O.A.T of Football and his journey as the greatest player of all time.

Name	Lionel Messi
Age	35
Profession	Soccer Player
Plays For Team	Argentina National Football Team Paris Saint-Germain F.C.

Lionel Messi’s Childhood

On 24 June 1987, Messi was born to a middle-class family in Rosario, Argentina. His father, Jorge Messi worked for a steel factory as a section manager. His mother Celia María Cuccittini worked in a magnetic oil workshop and also cleaned households occasionally.

Messi started playing soccer when he was 5. In the beginning, he was coached by his father at the local club Grandoli. And a few years later, he joined the top-tier football club of Rosario, Newell’s Old Boys. Despite being the youngest player in the whole club, Messi has always outshined bigger boys with his outstanding performance.

Not many people know that there is a reason behind Messi’s short height. Messi was always a short kid and it became normal for him to see the other boys taller than him. But when Lionel was 11 years old, his height raised concern among his family members. And then after the checkup, it was confirmed that he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency (GHD). However, the condition could be cured but its treatment was very expensive. He started the treatment for the same but the medical bills started to escalate and he had to leave the treatment.

Destiny had something else in store for Messi. Messi’s talent got noticed by domestic powerhouse River Plate and he got his first biggest opportunity to play football.

Starting Of Career

The journey of Messi’s career began at a very young age. He was only 17 when he made his team debut at FC Barcelona and became the youngest player to don the uniform of FC Barcelona. The Barcelona coach, Carles Rexach signed a contract with Messi on a Napkin because he did not want to waste any time and wanted to bring Messi to his team. The great play by Lionel Messi also caught the attention of the Spanish National team who also convinced him to play for Spain.

Despite having Spanish citizenship, Messi remained attached to his Argentinian roots and decided to play for Argentina only. In his senior international debut match for Argentina, the referee showed Messi a red card in just 47 seconds of the match for elbowing a rival player in his neck while running.

Leaving all that behind, Messi then played his First World Cup in 2006 and became the youngest player in Argentina to play and score in FIFA. After that, Messi shines at every match and rises as a regular star.

The Golden Year Of 2012

In 2012, Messi broke all the previous records and earned popularity worldwide. He was the first player to score five goals in one Champions League game and successfully surpassed 232 goals recorded by Cesar Rodriguez.

Messi also broke the record of Gerd Muller who scored 85 goals in a single year (1972) by scoring 91 goals in 1991. In addition to this, Messi won the Ballon d’Or award for the fourth time in 2012.

Biggest Achievements

Lionel Messi won many international titles to his name, the only one that was missing from his feathers was the title of FIFA World Cup win which is also now completed. Now his award cabinet includes the glorious titles of:

FIFA World Cup, 2022
Finalissima, 2022
Copa America, 2021
Olympic Gold Medal, 2008
FIFA Under-20 World Cup, 2005

Along with this, his other noteworthy achievements are:

He is a 7 times winner of the Ballon d’Or
He holds the title of Best FIFA Men’s Player for the years 2009 and 2019
He became the best player in Europe in the years 2009, 2011 and 2015
He holds the title of Top Goal Scorer 22 times

Apart From Football

With a massive fan following, many companies collaborate with Messi to endorse their brands. Lionel Messi is a brand ambassador of reputed brands including Adidas, Byju’s, Pepsi, Air Europa, Pro Evolution Soccer, Lays and many others.

Since 2010, Leonel Messi also has been a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador. Along with this, Messi founded an NGO, “Leo Messi Foundation” that works for the education, health, sports and welfare of children.