Lionel Andrs "Leo" Messi, born 24 June 1987 is an

Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club FC

Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his
country's national football team. By the age of 21, Messi had
received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The
following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player
of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA
Ballon d'Or in 2010, and 2012. He also won the 201011 UEFA Best Player
in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top
scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the
youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals.
Commonly rated by commentators, coaches and colleagues as the best
footballer in the world and as one of the greatest players in the history of
the game, Messi is the first football player in history to win
four FIFA/Ballons d'Or all of which he won consecutively as well as the
first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. Messi has won six La
Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de Espaa, three UEFA
Champions Leagues, two Super Cups and two Club World Cups. In March
2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player
to score five goals in one match. He also matched Jos Altafini's record of
14 goals in a single Champions League season. Messi became the first
player to top-score in four successive Champions League campaigns.
Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season during
the 201112 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current
goal scoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals. On 16
February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013,
Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first
footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in the
league.
Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with
six goals. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in theFIFA
World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa
Amrica tournament the following year, in which he was elected young
player of the tournament. In 2008, he won his first international honour, an
Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football
team. SportsPro has rated Lionel Messi as the second-most marketable
athlete in the world. His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons

to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his

"successor".