Lionel Messi, the Argentine player who captains the Argentine international team and plays for Barcelona in the Spanish league, is one of the most skilled and talented players in the history of world football.He with his great pace and skills has crushed many records and has helped Barcelona as well as his international team achieve glories.



Success

Messi has won the Ballon'd Or award three times and the Uefa's best footballer award two times. During his reign, Bracelona has been guided to five Laliga titles and three Champions league title. He is often compared with Diego Maradona, the God of football who himself declared him as his heir. Recently, he made a surprising history by scoring five goals in one match against Bayern Leverkusen in the Champions league. He is also the second player to score 60 goals in one season after Gerd Muller. He has also won a gold medal in the Beijing olympics.



Childlife

Messi started playing football when he crossed five for a local club Grandoli. At 11, he suffered from growth hormone deficiency. His treatment cost him $900 per month. Club Barcelona was made aware of his illness and also his talent. The director of the club made a contract with him in which all his medical bills would be paid by the club if he moves to spain and joins the club.

Career with Barcelona

Messi, after moving to Spain played for Barcelona's C grade and the B grade team. He made his debut with the club's official side when he was only 16. In an year, he made his league debut against Espanyol. His first goal for the club came at the age of 17. He was applauded by the visitors at the Camp Nou for his brilliant passing and attacking tactics with Ronaldinho.

Messi soon became a regular starter for Barca. In 2006- 07 season, Messi saw himself away from the field for three months due to a broken metatarsal after a match against Real Zaragoza. He became the second player to score a hat trick in El Classico (matches between Barcelona and Real madrid) resulting a 3-3 draw.



Messi proved that he is the second Maradona by replicating his glorious goals. Against Getafe, he scored a goal nearly a copy of the Maradona's goal of the century. He ran the same 62 metres with the ball beating the same number of players (six), scored from the same position and ran to the corner flag just as Maradona did. The Spanish press started calling the superstar 'Messidona'. He also scored a goal against Espanyol that was similar to the Maradona's 'Hand of God'.

In 2007-08 season, Messi got the Fif Pro World XI player of the year under the forward category. He was sidelined for six weeks following a muscle injury. In 2008-09, when Ronaldinho departed from the club, Messi was the focal point of Barcelona attack. It was the first time that any team had won the Champions league, La liga and the Copa Del Rey in a single season. He was given the Fifa world player of the year ahead of Christiano Ronaldo and the former winner Kaka.
In the 2010-11 season Messi scored twice to beat Real Madrid in the semifinals and also scored at Wembley to clinch the Champions league title third time and fourth overall.

Personal Life




Messi had started a Leo Messi named charity that gave children access to education and health care. The foundation is supported by his own funds. He was also the goodwill ambassador of UNICEF. He was the most appealing youth icon as was proved when a facebook page created on him saw 6 million people following it within a few hours.