The Legendary Story of Lionel Messi
Starting Out
Luis Lionel Andres Messi was born on June 24th, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina, to a football-loving family. As a child, he showed his passion and talents for the sport, and at the age of eight, he joined the youth team at Newell's Old Boys. However, there was a problem. Messi wasn’t growing at the same rate as other boys his age. It was discovered that he had a hormone deficiency and needed daily injections. However, they cost several hundred dollars a month, far too costly for his family. As clubs began circling to sign the footballing prodigy, Barcelona offered to pay for Messi’s treatment, a big selling point for the family. So, they accepted, moved to Spain, and the 12-year-old Messi became part of the famous La Masia academy. At first he was homesick, but soon made waves as part of Barcelona’s legendary ‘Baby Dream Team’.
The Barcelona Years
Top 20 Unbelievable Messi Goals
Messi turned heads with his talent and rapidly accelerated through the youth system as he scored 89 goals in 97 appearances. As Messi was hovering around the first team, Ronaldinho saw his potential and took the youngster under his wing. In 2004, Messi made his La Liga debut for Barcelona against rivals Espanyol, becoming the youngest player to represent the side at 17 years and three months old. He followed this up by becoming Barcelona’s youngest goalscorer when he finished against Albacete in 2005. While his professional career was taking off, so was Messi’s personal life. In 2008, he began a relationship with Antonela Roccuzzo. They had known each other as children in Rosario, as Roccuzzo was Messi’s friend’s cousin. They would go on to marry and have three children. Meanwhile, Messi’s legend began to form. With support from Andrés Iniesta and Xavi, Messi helped Barcelona win a load of trophies. The La Liga titles, Copa del Reys, and Champions League trophies all began to collect in the team’s cabinet. By 2012, Messi did what many thought was impossible. In one calendar year, he scored 91 goals, surpassing the record holder Gerd Müller with 85 goals in 1972. Messi sent the German legend a signed shirt, expressing his “respect and admiration”. As part of MSN with Luis Suárez and Neymar, the trio became one of the scariest combinations for defenders across Europe.
The Legendary Rivalry
Top 10 Facts About Lionel Messi
Every great player has a rival. For Messi, it was Cristiano Ronaldo. This rivalry really began to take off once the Portuguese star moved to Real Madrid from Manchester United. After that, we witnessed the two face off at least twice a year in the iconic El Clásico matches until 2018. They traded not only club trophies but also individual awards. At the time of writing, in the prestigious Ballon d’Or department, Messi holds a record seven to Ronaldo’s five. On top of this, Messi has a record six European Golden Shoes, given to the top scorer in the continent's biggest leagues, to Ronaldo’s four. However, the two have always shown a friendly relationship in public. In the lead-up to the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Louis Vuitton's campaign featured Messi and Ronaldo playing chess, which took the internet by storm.
Leading Argentina
Leo Messi wasn’t just setting the realm of club football alight, he was also doing the same internationally for Argentina. As such, he was regularly compared to the legendary Diego Maradona. While playing for the youth teams, Messi made his first team debut in 2005 against Hungary in a friendly. His tenure got off to a rough start when he was sent off within two minutes of coming on. But, of course, Messi bounced back; at the 2006 World Cup, Messi became Argentina’s youngest player to appear at the tournament and their youngest scorer when he fired in against Serbia and Montenegro. By 2008, Messi was locked in a tug-of-war between his home country and Barcelona, as Argentina wanted him for the Summer Olympics. After a legal battle seemed to rule him out, Barcelona relented, and Messi went on to win a gold medal. By 2011, Messi began sharing captain duties with Javier Mascherano. Later, he was given full captaining responsibility. Messi then became Argentina’s top goalscorer in 2016, surpassing Gabriel Batistuta. After losing in the final of the 2016 Copa América, Messi shocked everyone by announcing his retirement from international football. But just a couple of months later, he reversed that decision. And thank goodness he did. In 2021, Messi led Argentina to the Copa América title, their first in 28 years! Then, he walked his side into the 2022 World Cup. Argentina won the prestigious trophy for the first time in 36 years, with Messi being awarded the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best player! To date, the record-breaking player has 172 caps for Argentina with 98 goals.
Last Days of Barça
The Untold True Story Behind Air Jordans
All good things come to an end. Frustrated with Barcelona's management under president Josep Maria Bartomeu, Messi told the club he wanted to leave in 2020. He planned to exercise a clause in his contract that would let him leave for free. However, Barcelona disagreed and claimed that clause had expired. This left Messi with three options. One, pay the 700 million euro buyout transfer clause himself. Two, take the Catalonian side to court over the apparently expired clause. Or three, stay with Barcelona. He chose option three - saying "I would never go to court against the club of my life". In the meantime, amid ongoing criticism, Bartomeu and the entire board resigned as he faced a vote of no confidence. That season, Messi continued showing the world his talents by breaking Pelé's record for the most goals scored at one club. By the end of the season in 2021, Barcelona and their star player came to an understanding by agreeing to a new contract, with a 50% wage cut, since Messi’s was about to expire. However, that soon fell apart, as Barcelona had been left in massive debt, which the club’s new president Joan Laporta blamed on Bartomeu. They couldn’t re-sign Messi and adhere to the Financial Fair Play rules. So, in a tearful press conference, the Camp Nou icon was leaving after making 778 appearances and scoring 672 in all competitions.
New Team, Same Messi
Messi vs Ronaldo
With many top clubs around the world watching on, Messi chose his new team in August 2021 with France’s Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal. With his usual number 10 shirt occupied by Neymar, Messi decided to wear number 30 as a nod to his first professional shirt number. When he made his league debut against Reims, it became Spain's most-watched French football match. However, with Messi adapting to a new country and league, he struggled to reprise the talent everyone knew he was capable of. As such, some PSG fans began to boo the player they were originally so excited about signing. By the end of Messi’s first season in Paris, he scored just 6 league goals, the first time he hadn’t reached double figures since 2005-06. This lack of form also resulted in him not getting a Ballon d’Or nomination for the first time since 2005. But by the following season, Messi began to show shades of his world-class capabilities as he played more centrally. With the league still ongoing at the time of writing, he’s already beaten the previous year by scoring 7 league goals.
The Legacy
The Untold Story Of Armie Hammer (House of Hammer)
Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the best to ever grace the pitch. The long list of records he’s broken along the way is a testament to that. His humble demeanor on and off the pitch has also left a mark on many fans. Regardless of what happens in the next chapter of his storied career, whether he returns to Barça, stays with PSG, or goes onto new pastures before hanging up his boots, Messi is already immortalized as a football legend.
