Lionel Messi facts for kids

Lionel Messi
	; Messi in 2015 before a game against Sevilla FC
Personal information
Full name	Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini
Date of birth	24 June 1987 (age 31)
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Barcelona
Number	10
Youth career
1995–2000	Newell's Old Boys
2000–2003	Barcelona
Senior career*
National team‡
Competitor for Argentina
South American U-20 Championship
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Copa América
Olympic Games
FIFA World Cup
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 March 2018.; † Appearances (Goals).; ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2018

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]) (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer. He plays for Barcelona and the Argentina national team as a forward. He also has Spanish citizenship, meaning he can play for Spain. Messi is widely considered by many experts and critics as one of the best football players of all time. Messi has 5 Ballon d'Or awards. Messi was awarded FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009. His playing style and skills are very similar to the Argentine legend Diego Maradona. There is much competition between him and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo because of their similar skill levels.

Early Life

5-year-old Lionel Messi with Club Abanderado Grandoli of Rosario, where he started to play football

Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina to Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini.

Career

Messi about to shoot

FC Barcelona

Messi began football at a young age and his potential was quickly seen by Barcelona. He left Newell's Old Boys' youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe for Barcelona. They moved to Spain because Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. He started in the 2004–05 season, and he scored his first goal on 1 May 2005 against Albacete from an assist by Ronaldinho. The goal made him a the youngest-ever scorer for the club at that time. Barcelona won La Liga that season for the first time in 6 years, and won the league for a second time in a row along with the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2006. His first very good season was in the 2006–07 season; he became a first team regular, by scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico. He scored 14 goals in 26 league games. Maybe his most successful season was the 2008–09 season. In this season, Messi scored 38 goals. In the following 2009–10 season, Messi scored 47 goals in all games. That equals to Ronaldo's (Brazilian) record total for Barcelona.

Argentina

Messi decided to play for his homeland, Argentina, in 2005. He led the team to the final game of the 2005 U-20 World Cup against Nigeria, which ended in a 2–1 Argentine victory. Messi scored two penalties as his national team won the U-20 World Cup. In addition to the gold medal, Messi was awarded with the Golden Shoe for most goals scored (6), and Golden Ball for best player. Messi was made captain of the national team in 2011.

Retirement

On 26 June, Argentina once again lost to Chile on penalties in the Copa América Centenario after a 0–0 tie. Messi missed his penalty in the penalty shootout. This was Messi's third consecutive defeat in a major tournament final with Argentina, and his fourth overall. A day after the match, Messi announced his retirement from international football.

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 May 2018

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Copa del Rey		Champions League		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona C	2003–04	Tercera División	10	5	—		—		—		10	5
Barcelona B	2003–04	Segunda División B	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
	2004–05	Segunda División B	17	6	—		—		—		17	6
	Total		22	6	—		—		—		22	6
Barcelona	2004–05	La Liga	7	1	1	0	1	0	—		9	1
	2005–06	La Liga	17	6	2	1	6	1	0	0	25	8
	2006–07	La Liga	26	14	2	2	5	1	3	0	36	17
	2007–08	La Liga	28	10	3	0	9	6	—		40	16
	2008–09	La Liga	31	23	8	6	12	9	—		51	38
	2009–10	La Liga	35	34	3	1	11	8	4	4	53	47
	2010–11	La Liga	33	31	7	7	13	12	2	3	55	53
	2011–12	La Liga	37	50	7	3	11	14	5	6	60	73
	2012–13	La Liga	32	46	5	4	11	8	2	2	50	60
	2013–14	La Liga	31	28	6	5	7	8	2	0	46	41
	2014–15	La Liga	38	43	6	5	13	10	—		57	58
	2015–16	La Liga	33	26	5	5	7	6	4	4	49	41
	2016–17	La Liga	34	37	7	5	9	11	2	1	52	54
	2017–18	La Liga	36	34	6	4	10	6	2	1	54	45
	Total		418	383	68	48	125	100	26	21	637	552
Career total			450	394	68	48	125	100	26	21	669	563

International

As of 21 June 2018

Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition
Team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
Team	Year	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Argentina U20	2004	—		2	3	2	3
	2005	16	11	—		16	11
	Total	16	11	2	3	18	14
Argentina U23	2008	5	2	—		5	2
Argentina U23	Total	5	2	—		5	2
Argentina	2005	3	0	2	0	5	0
	2006	3	1	4	1	7	2
	2007	10	4	4	2	14	6
	2008	6	1	2	1	8	2
	2009	8	1	2	2	10	3
	2010	5	0	5	2	10	2
	2011	8	2	5	2	13	4
	2012	5	5	4	7	9	12
	2013	5	3	2	3	7	6
	2014	7	4	7	4	14	8
	2015	6	1	2	3	8	4
	2016	10	8	1	0	11	8
	2017	5	4	2	0	7	4
	2018	2	0	1	3	3	3
	Total	83	34	43	30	126	64
Career total		104	47	45	33	149	80

Personal life

Relationships

Messi has three children with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo. They are named Thiago Messi, Mateo Messi and Ciro Messi. Thiago was born on 2 November 2012, Mateo was born on 11 September 2015 and Ciro was born on 10 March 2018. On the bottom of Messi's cleats is the name or his first son, Thiago.

Messi and Antonella married in June 2017.

Charity

When not playing on the field Messi finds time to do charity work. He started the Leo Messi Foundation in 2007 which helps children in at-risk situations. Messi also opened a kids park for children living in the hospital at the University hospital Vall d’hebron in Barcelona.

Images for kids

Messi enrolled at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, at age 13.
Messi against Málaga in 2005
Messi during a training session with Barça in August 2006
Messi makes his Maradona-esque run against Getafe in April 2007.
Messi in the Champions League final against Manchester United in May 2009.
Messi (centre) and his teammates celebrate winning the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2011.
Messi points to the sky during his five-goal display against Bayer Leverkusen in March 2012.
Messi celebrates his second goal against Granada in September 2014.
Messi battles Juventus defender Patrice Evra for the ball during the Champions League final in June 2015.
Messi dribbling past Sevilla's Éver Banega in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup
Messi evades Brazil's Marcelo in the semi-final of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Messi in action during the opening match against Bolivia in the 2011 Copa América
Messi scored his first international hat-trick against Switzerland in February 2012.
Messi battles Germany's Mats Hummels for the ball during the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Messi prepares to shoot with his dominant left foot during the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Messi has been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo (left) for much of their careers.
A mural of Messi's likeness in the San Siro district of Milan, photographed in 2013
Messi pictured in July 2014
Messi accepting Golden Ball award, alongside his future teammate Neymar after the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final.