Messi" redirects here. For other uses, see Messi (disambiguation).
 Messi with Argentina at the 2018 World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lionel Andrés Messi[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1987[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1995 | Grandoli | ||
| 1995–2000 | Newell's Old Boys | ||
| 2000–2003 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2004 | Barcelona C | 10 | (5) |
| 2004–2005 | Barcelona B | 22 | (6) |
| 2004–2021 | Barcelona | 520 | (474) |
| 2021– | Paris Saint-Germain | 5 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004–2005 | Argentina U20 | 18 | (14) |
| 2008 | Argentina U23 | 5 | (2) |
| 2005– | Argentina | 156 | (80) |
show Honours | |||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:36, 29 October 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2021 | |||
| ||
|---|---|---|
Argentine professional footballer
| ||
Lionel Andrés Messi[note 1] (Spanish elocution: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] (About this soundlisten); conceived 24 June 1987), otherwise called Leo Messi, is an Argentine expert footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and skippers the Argentina public group. Frequently thought to be the best player on the planet and broadly viewed as perhaps the best player ever, Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards,[note 2] a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his whole expert vocation with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 prizes, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. A productive goalscorer and inventive playmaker, Messi holds the records for most objectives in La Liga (474), a La Liga and European association season (50), most full go-arounds in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most aids La Liga (192), a La Liga season (21) and the Copa América (17). He likewise holds the record for most global objectives by a South American male (80). Messi has scored more than 750 senior vocation objectives for club and country, and has the most objectives by a player for a solitary club.
Brought up in focal Argentina, Messi moved to Spain to join Barcelona at age 13, for whom he made his serious presentation matured 17 in October 2004. He secured himself as a basic player for the club inside the following three years, and in his first continuous season in 2008–09 he assisted Barcelona with accomplishing the main high pitch in Spanish football; that year, matured 22, Messi won his first Ballon d'Or. Three effective seasons followed, with Messi winning four back to back Ballons d'Or, making him the principal player to win the honor multiple times and in a row.[10] During the 2011–12 season, he set the La Liga and European records for most objectives scored in a solitary season, while securing himself as Barcelona's record-breaking top scorer. The accompanying two seasons, Messi completed second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo (his apparent profession rival), prior to recovering his best structure during the 2014–15 mission, turning into the record-breaking top scorer in La Liga and driving Barcelona to a noteworthy second high pitch, after which he was granted a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. Messi accepted captaincy of Barcelona in 2018, and in 2019 he won a record 6th Ballon d'Or.
An Argentine global, Messi is the two his country's most elevated appearance-creator and their untouched driving goalscorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, completing the competition with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold award at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His style of play as a minute, left-footed dribbler drew examinations with his comrade Diego Maradona, who portrayed Messi as his replacement. After his senior introduction in August 2005, Messi turned into the most youthful Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup in 2006, and arrived at the last of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named youthful player of the competition. As the crew's chief from August 2011, he drove Argentina to three continuous finals: the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, and the 2015 and 2016 Copa América, winning the Golden Ball in the 2015 version. Subsequent to reporting his global retirement in 2016, he switched his choice and drove his country to capability for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a third-place finish at the 2019 Copa América, and won the 2021 Copa América, while winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot grant for the last option.
Messi has supported athletic apparel organization Adidas starting around 2006. As per France Football, he was the world's most generously compensated footballer for a very long time out of six somewhere in the range of 2009 and 2014, and was positioned the world's most generously compensated competitor by Forbes in 2019. Messi was among Time's 100 most powerful individuals on the planet in 2011 and 2012. In February 2020, he was granted the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, in this way turning into the primary footballer and the principal group activity competitor to win the honor. Sometime thereafter, Messi turned into the subsequent footballer (and second group activity competitor) to outperform $1 billion in profession income.
Substance
Early life
Messi was brought into the world on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe,[11] the third of four offspring of Jorge Messi, a steel processing plant supervisor, and his significant other Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet producing studio. On his dad's side, he is of Italian and Spanish plunge, the incredible grandson of foreigners from the northcentral Adriatic Marche area of Italy and Catalonia, and on his mom's side, he has essentially Italian ancestry.[5] Growing up in a very close, football-cherishing family, "Leo" fostered an enthusiasm for the game since the beginning, playing continually with his more established siblings, Rodrigo and Matías, and his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom became proficient footballers.[12] At the age of four he joined neighborhood club Grandoli, where he was instructed by his dad, however his soonest impact as a player came from his maternal grandma, Celia, who went with him to preparing and matches.[13] He was significantly impacted by her passing, instantly before his 11th birthday celebration; from that point forward, as a passionate Catholic, he has praised his objectives by turning upward and highlighting the sky in accolade for his grandmother.[14][15]
"At the point when you saw him you would figure: this child can't take care of business. He's a smaller person, he's excessively delicate, excessively little. However, quickly you'd understand that he was conceived unique, that he was a peculiarity and that he would have been an amazing thing."
– Newell's Old Boys youth mentor Adrián Coria shares his initial feeling of the 12-year-old Messi.[16]
A long lasting ally of Newell's Old Boys, Messi joined the Rosario club when he was six years of age. During the six years he played for Newell's, he scored just about 500 objectives as an individual from "The Machine of '87", the close incredible youth side named for the extended period of their introduction to the world, and routinely engaged groups by performing ball stunts during half-season of the main group's home games.[17][18] However, his future as an expert player was undermined when, at age 10, he was determined to have a development chemical insufficiency. As his dad's medical coverage covered just two years of development chemical therapy, which cost essentially $1,000 each month, Newell's consented to contribute, yet later reneged on their promise.[19] He was explored by Buenos Aires club River Plate, whose playmaker, Pablo Aimar, he adored, however they were additionally unfit to pay for his therapy because of Argentina's financial collapse.[20][21] His goalscoring icon growing up was Ronaldo, with Messi calling him "the best forward I've ever seen".[22]
_(Barcelona)_-_1.jpg)
As the Messi family had family members in Catalonia, they tried to organize a preliminary with Barcelona in September 2000. First group chief Charly Rexach quickly needed to sign him, however the directorate wavered; at the time it was exceptionally surprising for European clubs to sign unfamiliar players of such a youthful age. On 14 December, a final proposal was given for Barcelona to demonstrate their responsibility, and Rexach, with no other paper close by, offered an agreement on a paper napkin.[20][23] In February 2001, the family moved to Barcelona, where they moved into a condo close to the club's arena, Camp Nou. During his first year in Spain, Messi infrequently played with the Infantiles because of an exchange struggle with Newell's; as an outsider, he must be handled in friendlies and the Catalan association. Without football, he attempted to coordinate into the group; currently saved naturally, he was entirely tranquil, to the point that his colleagues at first accepted he was quiet. At home, he experienced achiness to visit the family after his mom moved back to Rosario with his siblings and younger sibling, María Sol, while he remained in Barcelona with his father.[17][23][24]
Following a year at Barcelona's childhood institute, La Masia, Messi was at long last taken a crack at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in February 2002. Presently playing in all rivalries, he become a close acquaintence with his colleagues, among whom were Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué.[25] After finishing his development chemical treatment matured 14,[26] Messi turned into an indispensable piece of the "Child Dream Team", Barcelona's most noteworthy ever youth side. During his first full season (2002–03), he was top scorer with 36 objectives in 30 games for the Cadetes A, who won an uncommon high pitch of the association and both the Spanish and Catalan cups.[25][27] The Copa Catalunya last, a 4–1 triumph over Espanyol, became referred to in club legend as the partido de la máscara, the last of the veil. Seven days subsequent to experiencing a wrecked cheekbone during an association match, Messi was permitted to begin the game depending on the prerequisite that he wear a plastic defender; before long ruined by the veil, he took it off and scored two objectives in a short time before his substitution.[28] At the end of the period, he got a proposal to join Arsenal, his first from an unfamiliar club, however while Fàbregas and Piqué before long left for England, he decided to stay in Barcelona.[23][29][30]
Club profession
Barcelona
2003–2005: Rise to the main group
"Maybe he had been playing with us for his entire life."
– Barcelona's then associate mentor Henk ten Cate in Messi's first-group debut.[31]
During the 2003–04 season, his fourth with Barcelona, Messi quickly advanced through the club's positions, appearing for a record five youth groups in a solitary campaign.[32] After being named player of the competition in four worldwide pre-season contests with the Juveniles B, he played just a single authority match with the group prior to being elevated to the Juveniles A, where he scored 18 objectives in 11 association games.[33][34] Messi was then one of a few youth players called up to fortify an exhausted first group during the global break. French winger Ludovic Giuly clarified how a high school Leo got the attention in an instructional course with Frank Rijkaard's first group: "He annihilated us all... They were kicking him everywhere to try not to be disparaged by this child, he just got up and continued to play. He would spill past four players and score an objective. Indeed, even the group's beginning place backs were apprehensive. He was an alien."[35]
At 16 years, four months, and 23 days old, Messi made his first group debut when he came on in the 75th moment during an agreeable against José Mourinho's Porto on 16 November 2003.[23][36] His presentation, making two possibilities and a shot on objective, dazzled the specialized staff, and he in this manner started preparing day by day with the club's hold side, Barcelona B, just as week by week with the first team.[37] After his first instructional course with the senior crew, Barça's new headliner, Ronaldinho, let his colleagues know that he accepted the 16-year-old would turn into a far better player than himself.[38] Ronaldinho before long become friends with Messi, whom he called "younger sibling", which incredibly slid his change into the first team.[39][40]
To acquire further match insight, Messi joined Barcelona C notwithstanding the Juveniles A, playing his first game for the third group on 29 November. He helped save them from the assignment zone of the Tercera División, scoring five objectives in ten games, incorporating a full go-around quickly during a Copa del Rey match while man-set apart by Sevilla's Sergio Ramos.[33][41] His advancement was reflected in his first expert agreement, endorsed on 4 February 2004, which went on until 2012 and contained an underlying buyout statement of €30 million. After a month, on 6 March, he made his presentation for Barcelona B in the Segunda División B, and his buyout proviso consequently expanded to €80 million.[33][42] He played five games with the B group that season however didn't score.[43] Physically he was more fragile than his adversaries, who were frequently a lot more established and taller, and in preparing he chipped away at expanding his bulk and in general strength to have the option to shake off safeguards. Towards the finish of the period, he got back to both youth groups, helping the Juveniles B win the association. He completed the mission having scored for four of his five groups with an aggregate of 36 objectives in all authority competitions.[33][41]
During the 2004–05 season, Messi was a surefire starter for the B group, playing 17 games all through the mission and scoring on six occasions.[38][44] Since his presentation the past November, he had not been called up to the primary group again, yet in October 2004, the senior players asked director Frank Rijkaard to advance him.[38] Since Ronaldinho previously played on the left wing, Rijkaard moved Messi from his typical situation onto the right flank (however at first against the player's desires), permitting him to cut into the focal point of the pitch and shoot with his prevailing left foot.[45][46] Messi made his association debut during the following match on 16 October, against Espanyol, coming on in the 82nd minute.[23] At 17 years, 90 days, and 22 days old, he was at the time the most youthful player to address Barcelona in an authority competition.[40] As a substitute player, he played 77 minutes in nine counterparts for the principal group that season, remembering his introduction for the UEFA Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.[44][47] He scored his first senior objective on 1 May 2005, against Albacete, from a help by Ronaldinho, becoming – around then – the most youthful ever scorer for the club.[45][48] Barcelona, in their second season under Rijkaard, won the association without precedent for six years.[49]
2005–2008: Becoming a beginning eleven player
"In all my years I have never seen a player of such quality and character at such a youthful age, especially wearing the 'substantial' shirt of one of the world's incredible clubs."
– Fabio Capello acclaims the 18-year-old Messi following the Joan Gamper prize in August 2005.[50]
On 24 June, his eighteenth birthday celebration, Messi marked his first agreement as a senior cooperative person. It made him a Barcelona player until 2010, two years not as much as his past agreement, however his buyout statement expanded to €150 million.[42] His advancement came two months after the fact, on 24 August, during the Joan Gamper Trophy, Barcelona's pre-season rivalry. A starter interestingly, he gave a generally welcomed execution against Fabio Capello's Juventus, getting an applause from the Camp Nou.[50] While Capello mentioned to credit Messi, a bid to get him came from Inter Milan, who were able to pay his €150 million buyout proviso and triple his wages.[51] According to then-president Joan Laporta, it was the main time the club confronted a genuine danger of losing Messi, however he eventually chose to stay.[52] On 16 September, his agreement was refreshed for the second time in 90 days and reached out to 2014.[42][53]
Because of issues in regards to his lawful status in the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Messi missed the beginning of La Liga, however on 26 September, he obtained Spanish citizenship and became qualified to play.[53][54] Wearing the number 19 shirt, he step by step laid down a good foundation for himself as the best option conservative, framing an assaulting threesome with Ronaldinho and striker Samuel Eto'o.[30][55][56] He was in the firing line up in major matches like his first Clásico against rivals Real Madrid on 19 November, just as Barcelona's away triumph over Chelsea in the last 16 round of the Champions League,[57][55] which returned on of a serious time of contention between the clubs driving an angry Messi to state, "We would prefer to play Arsenal, Manchester United or any other individual than be on the pitch with Chelsea."[58] After he had scored 8 objectives in 25 games, remembering his first for the Champions League,[59] in a 5–0 success over Panathinaikos on 2 November 2005,[60] his season finished rashly during the return leg against Chelsea on 7 March 2006, when he experienced a torn hamstring. Messi attempted to recover wellness on schedule for the Champions League last, however on 17 May, the day of the last, he was in the long run precluded. He was frustrated to the point that he didn't commend his group's triumph over Arsenal in Paris, something he later came to regret.[49][55]
While Barcelona started a continuous decay, the 19-year-old Messi set up a good foundation for himself as probably the best player on the planet during the 2006–07 campaign.[61][62] Already a symbol to the culés, the club's allies, he scored 17 objectives in 36 games across all competitions.[62][63] However, he kept on being tormented by significant wounds; a metatarsal break supported on 12 November 2006 saved him down and out for three months.[64][65] He recuperated on schedule for the last 16 round of the Champions League against Liverpool, yet was successfully set apart out of the game; Barcelona, the defending champs, were out of the competition.[66] In the association, his objective commitment expanded towards the finish of the period; 11 of his 14 objectives came from the keep going 13 games.[63] On 10 March 2007, he scored his first full go-around in a Clásico, the first player to do as such in quite a while, balancing after every objective by Real Madrid to end the match in a 3–3 attract injury time.[67] His developing significance to the club was reflected in another agreement, marked that month, which extraordinarily expanded his wages.[68]
Messi making his Maradona-esque run against Getafe in 2007
Currently often contrasted with comrade Diego Maradona, Messi demonstrated their similitude when he almost recreated Maradona's two most popular objectives in the range of seven weeks.[69] During a Copa del Rey semi-last against Getafe on 18 April, he scored an objective astoundingly like Maradona's second objective in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, known as the Goal of the Century. Messi gathered the ball on the right side close to the midway line, ran 60 meters (66 yd), and beat five protectors prior to scoring with a calculated completion, similarly as Maradona had done.[20][70] An association match against Espanyol on 9 June saw him score by dispatching himself at the ball and directing it past the goalkeeper with his hand in comparative style to Maradona's Hand of God objective in a similar World Cup match.[71] As Messi proceeded with his singular ascent, Barcelona wavered; the group neglected to arrive at the Copa del Rey last after Messi was refreshed during the second leg against Getafe and lost the association to Real Madrid on no holds barred results.[72][73]
After Ronaldinho lost structure, Messi turned into Barça's new headliner at just 20 years of age, getting the moniker "Savior" from the Spanish media.[20][74][75] His endeavors in 2007 additionally procured him grant acknowledgment; writers casted a ballot him the third-best player of the year for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, behind Kaká and next in line Cristiano Ronaldo, while worldwide chiefs and public group commanders casted a ballot him second for the FIFA World Player of the Year grant, again behind Kaká.[76][77] Although he figured out how to score 16 objectives during the 2007–08 campaign,[78] the second 50% of his season was again defaced by wounds after he experienced a torn hamstring on 15 December.[79] He got back to score twice in their away triumph against Celtic in the last 16 round of the Champions League, turning into the opposition's top scorer by then with six goals,[80] however reinjured himself during the return leg on 4 March 2008. Rijkaard had handled him in spite of caution from the clinical staff, driving commander Carles Puyol to censure the Spanish media for compelling Messi to play each match.[79] Barcelona completed the season without prizes, wiped out in the Champions League semi-finals by the inevitable bosses, Manchester United, and set third in the league.[81]
2008–09: First high pitch
After two fruitless seasons, Barcelona needed an upgrade, prompting the takeoff of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho. Upon the last's flight, Messi was given the number 10 shirt.[56] He marked another agreement in July with a yearly compensation of €7.8 million, turning into the club's most generously compensated player.[82][83] Ahead of the new season, a main issue remained his successive solid wounds, which had left him side-lined for an aggregate of eight months somewhere in the range of 2006 and 2008. To battle the issue, the club executed new preparing, nourishment, and way of life regimens, and appointed him an individual physiotherapist, who might go with him during call-ups for the Argentina public group. Therefore, Messi remained for all intents and purposes sans injury during the following four years, permitting him to arrive at his full potential.[65][84] Despite his wounds right off the bat in the year, his exhibitions in 2008 saw him again casted a ballot sprinter up for the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year grant, the twice behind Cristiano Ronaldo.[76][85]
Messi meaning to shoot during the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United
In his first continuous mission, the 2008–09 season, he scored 38 objectives in 51 games, contributing close by Eto'o and winger Thierry Henry to an aggregate of 100 objectives in all rivalries, a record at the ideal opportunity for the club.[86][87] During his first season under Barcelona's new supervisor, previous commander Pep Guardiola, Messi played for the most part on the traditional, similar to he had under Rijkaard, however this time as a bogus winger with the opportunity to cut inside and meander the middle. During the Clásico on 2 May 2009, notwithstanding, he played interestingly as a bogus nine, situated as a middle forward however dropping profound into midfield to connect up with Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. He put forward up his side's first objective and scored twice to end the match in an earnest 6–2 triumph, the group's most noteworthy at any point score whatsoever Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[88][89] Returning to the wing, he played his initial last since breaking into the principal group on 13 May, scoring once and helping a second objective as Barcelona crushed Athletic Bilbao 4–1 to win the Copa del Rey.[90] With 23 association objectives from Messi that season, Barcelona became La Liga champions three days after the fact and accomplished its fifth double.[86][91]
As the season's Champions League top scorer with nine objectives, the most youthful in the competition's history,[92] Messi scored two objectives and helped two more to guarantee a 4–0 quarter-last triumph over Bayern Munich.[88] He returned as a bogus nine during the last on 27 May in Rome against Manchester United. Barcelona were delegated bosses of Europe by dominating the game 2–0, the subsequent objective coming from a Messi header over goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Barcelona consequently accomplished the primary high pitch throughout the entire existence of Spanish football.[93] This achievement was reflected in another agreement, endorsed on 18 September, which submitted Messi to the club through 2016 with another buyout proviso of €250 million, while his compensation expanded to €12 million.[82]
2009–10: First Ballon d'Or
His group's flourishing proceeded into the second 50% of 2009, as Barcelona turned into the main club to accomplish the sextuple, winning six top-level prizes in a solitary year.[94] After triumphs in the Supercopa de España and UEFA Super Cup in August, Barcelona won the FIFA Club World Cup against Estudiantes de La Plata on 19 December, with Messi scoring the triumphant 2–1 objective with his chest.[95] At 22 years of age, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year grant, the twice by the best democratic edge in every prize's history.[76]
"Messi is the best player on the planet by some distance. He resembles a PlayStation. He can exploit each error we make."
– Arsène Wenger praises Messi for his four-objective showcase against Arsenal in April 2010.[96]
The new year, nonetheless, began a more negative note for Barcelona, as they were taken out of the Copa del Rey by Sevilla in the Round of 16.[97] Unsatisfied with his situation on the traditional – with the club's late spring securing Zlatan Ibrahimović possessing the focal forward job – Messi continued playing as a bogus nine in mid 2010, starting with a Champions League last 16-round match against VfB Stuttgart. After a first-leg draw, Barcelona won the second leg 4–0 with two objectives and a help from Messi. By then, he adequately turned into the strategic point of convergence of Guardiola's group, and his goalscoring rate increased.[98] Messi scored a sum of 47 objectives in all contests that season, approaching Ronaldo's club record from the 1996–97 campaign.[99][100] He scored each of his side's four objectives in the Champions League quarter-last against Arsenal on 6 April while turning into Barcelona's unequaled top scorer in the competition.[101] Although Barcelona were wiped out in the Champions League semi-finals by the inevitable heroes, Inter Milan, Messi completed the season as top scorer (with 8 objectives) for the second continuous year.[102] As the association's top scorer with 34 objectives (again tying Ronaldo's record), he assisted Barcelona with winning a second sequential La
2014–15: Second treble
Under new administrator and previous chief Luis Enrique, Messi encountered a generally without injury start to the 2014–15 season, permitting him to break three additional longstanding records towards the finish of the year.[169] A full go-around scored against Sevilla on 22 November made him the unequaled top scorer in La Liga, as he outperformed the 59-year record of 251 association objectives held by Telmo Zarra.[170] A third full go-around, scored against city rivals Espanyol on 7 December, permitted him to outperform César Rodríguez as the record-breaking top scorer in the Derbi barceloní with 12 goals.[171] Messi again positioned second in the FIFA Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, to a great extent attributable to his runner up accomplishment with Argentina at the World Cup.[172]
Toward the beginning of 2015, Barcelona were seen to be set out toward one more disillusioning finish to the season, with reestablished theory in the media that Messi was leaving the club. A defining moment came on 11 January during a 3–1 triumph over Atlético Madrid, whenever Barça's first assaulting spear of Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, named "MSN", each scored in a match, denoting the start of an exceptionally fruitful run.[173][174] After five years of playing in the focal point of the pitch, Messi had gotten back to his old situation on the traditional late the earlier year, by his own idea as indicated by Suárez, their striker.[174][175] From there, he recaptured his best – ostensibly his best-ever – structure, while Suárez and Neymar finished the group's assaulting reliance on their star player.[176][177] With 58 objectives from Messi, the threesome scored a sum of 122 objectives in all rivalries that season, a record in Spanish football.[178]
Messi spilling past Juventus protector Patrice Evra during the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final
Towards the finish of the mission, Messi scored in a 1–0 away success over Atlético Madrid on 17 May, getting the La Liga title.[179] Among his 43 association objectives that season was a full go-around scored in a short time against Rayo Vallecano on 8 March, the quickest of his senior profession; it was his 32nd full go-around generally speaking for Barcelona, permitting him to overwhelm Telmo Zarra with the most full go-arounds in Spanish football.[180] As the season's top help supplier with 18 he outperformed Luís Figo with the most aids La Liga;[note 3] he made his record 106th aid an installation against Levante on 15 February, wherein he likewise scored a cap trick.[181][182][183] Messi scored twice as Barcelona crushed Athletic Bilbao 3–1 in the Copa del Rey last on 30 May, accomplishing the 6th twofold in their set of experiences. His initial objective was hailed as one of the best in his profession; he gathered the ball close to the midway line and beat four rival players, prior to bluffing the goalkeeper to score in a restricted space by the close post.[184]
In the Champions League, Messi scored twice and set up one more in their 3–0 semi-last triumph over Bayern Munich, presently under the stewardship of Guardiola.[185] His subsequent objective, which came just a short time after his first, saw him chip the ball over goalkeeper Manuel Neuer after his spill past Jérôme Boateng had made the safeguard drop to the ground; it became a web sensation, turning into the year's most tweeted about donning second, and was named the best objective of the period by UEFA.[186][187] Despite a second-leg misfortune, Barcelona advanced to the last on 6 June in Berlin, where they crushed Juventus 3–1 to win their subsequent high pitch, turning into the primary group in history to do so.[188][189] Although Messi didn't score, he took part in every one of his side's objectives, especially the second as he constrained a parried save from goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from which Suárez scored the game dominating objective on the rebound.[178] as well as being the top help supplier with six helps, Messi completed the opposition as the joint top scorer with ten objectives, which acquired him the differentiation of being the very first player to accomplish the top scoring mark in five Champions League seasons.[190][191] For his endeavors during the season, he got the UEFA Best Player in Europe grant briefly time.[192]
2015–16: Domestic achievement
Messi holding off Sevilla's Éver Banega during the 2015 UEFA Super Cup
Messi opened the 2015–16 season by scoring twice from free kicks in Barcelona's 5–4 triumph (after additional time) over Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.[193] On 16 September, he turned into the most youthful player to show up in the UEFA Champions League in a 1–1 away attract to Roma.[194] After a knee injury, he got back to the pitch on 21 November, showing up in Barcelona's 4–0 away success over rivals Real Madrid in El Clásico.[195] Messi covered off the year by winning the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final on 20 December, gathering his fifth club prize of 2015 as Barcelona crushed River Plate 3–0 in Yokohama.[196] On 30 December, Messi scored on his 500th appearance for Barcelona, in a 4–0 home success over Real Betis.[197]
On 11 January 2016, Messi won the FIFA Ballon d'Or for a record fifth time in his career.[198] On 3 February, he scored a full go-around in Barcelona's 7–0 success against Valencia in the principal leg of the Copa del Rey semi-last at the Camp Nou.[199] In a 6–1 home success against Celta Vigo in the association, Messi helped Suárez from an extra shot. Some considered it to be "a dash of virtuoso", while others condemned it as being ill bred to the adversary. The Celta players never whined and their mentor safeguarded the punishment, expressing, "Barca's advances are exceptionally aware." The punishment routine has been contrasted with that of Barça symbol Johan Cruyff in 1982, who was fighting cellular breakdown in the lungs, driving many fans to show that the punishment was a recognition for him. Cruyff himself was "extremely cheerful" with the play, demanding "it was lawful and entertaining".[200][201]
On 17 February, Messi arrived at his 300th association objective in a 1–3 away success against Sporting de Gijón.[202] A couple of days after the fact, he scored the two objectives in Barcelona's 0–2 success against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, in the main leg of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League round of 16, with the subsequent objective being Barcelona's 10,000th in official competitions.[203] On 17 April, Messi finished a five-match scoring dry spell with his 500th senior vocation objective for club and country in Barcelona's 2–1 home misfortune to Valencia.[204] Messi wrapped the 2015–16 season by defining up the two objectives in Barcelona's 2–0 additional time prevail upon Sevilla in the 2016 Copa del Rey Final, at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, on 22 May 2016, as the club commended winning the homegrown twofold for the second sequential season.[205] In all out, Messi scored 41 objectives and gave 23 helps, as Barcelona's assaulting triplet dealt with a Spanish record of 131 objectives all through the season, breaking the record they had set the past season.[206]
2016–17: Fourth Golden Boot
"[Messi] is fundamental, however most of us are unnecessary. – No, the club is greater than any director, than any player... but Leo. That is the truth, and you need to acknowledge it."
– In a meeting with Barcelona's true magazine, Javier Mascherano diagrams Messi's significance to the team.[207]
Messi opened the 2016–17 season by lifting the 2016 Supercopa de España as Barcelona's chief without the harmed Andrés Iniesta;[208] he put forward up Munir's objective in a 2–0 away success over Sevilla in the primary leg on 14 August,[209] and thusly scored in a 3–0 success in the return leg on 17 August.[210] Three days after the fact, he scored two objectives as Barcelona won 6–2 against Real Betis in the initial round of the 2016–17 La Liga season.[211] On 13 September, Messi scored his first full go-around of the period in the initial round of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League crusade against Celtic in a 7–0 triumph; this was additionally Messi's 6th full go-around in the Champions League, the most by any player. After seven days, Messi supported a crotch injury in a 1–1 draw against Atlético Madrid and was precluded with injury for three weeks.[212] He denoted his return with an objective, scoring three minutes in the wake of falling off the seat in a 4–0 home success over Deportivo de La Coruña, on 16 October.[213] Three days after this, he got his thirty-seventh club full go-around as Barcelona crushed Manchester City 4–0.[214] On 1 November, Messi scored his 54th Champions League bunch stage objective in Barcelona's 3–1 away misfortune to Manchester City, outperforming the past record of 53 objectives held by Raúl.[215]
Messi before an agreeable game with Al Ahli SC in Doha, Qatar in December 2016
Messi completed the year with 51 objectives, making him Europe's top scorer, one in front of Zlatan Ibrahimović.[216] After setting second in the 2016 Ballon d'Or, on 9 January 2017 Messi additionally completed in runner up – behind Cristiano Ronaldo indeed – in the 2016 Best FIFA Men's Player Award.[217] On 11 January, Messi scored from a free-kick in Barcelona's 3–1 triumph against Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, which empowered Barcelona to progress to the quarter-finals of the opposition; with his 26th objective from a free-kick for Barcelona in all rivalries, he equalled the club's unequaled record, which had recently been set by Ronald Koeman.[218] In his next association match, on 14 January, Messi scored in a 5–0 success against Las Palmas; with this objective, he equalled Raúl's record for the most groups scored against in La Liga (35).[219]
On 4 February 2017, Messi scored his 27th free-kick for Barcelona in a 3–0 home success over Athletic Bilbao in the association, overwhelming Koeman as the club's unsurpassed top-scorer from free-kicks.[220] On 23 April, Messi scored twice in a 3–2 away success over Real Madrid. His match dominating objective in stoppage time was his 500th for Barcelona.[221] His essential festival saw him removing his Barcelona shirt and holding it up to exasperated Real Madrid fans – with his name and number confronting the crowd.[222] On 27 May, Messi scored an objective and set up one more for Pac
- ^ One appearance and one goal in UEFA Super Cup, two appearances and three goals in Supercopa de España, two appearances and two goals in FIFA Club World Cup
- ^ One appearance and two goals in UEFA Super Cup, two appearances and one goal in Supercopa de España, one appearance and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
International
International
- As of match played 14 October 2021
Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition Team Year Competitive Friendly Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Argentina U20[330][331] 2004 — 2 3 2 3 2005 16[a] 11 — 16 11 Total 16 11 2 3 18 14 Argentina U23[354] 2008 5[b] 2 — 5 2 Total 5 2 0 0 5 2 Argentina[337][596] 2005 3[c] 0 2 0 5 0 2006 3[d] 1 4 1 7 2 2007 10[e] 4 4 2 14 6 2008 6[c] 1 2 1 8 2 2009 8[c] 1 2 2 10 3 2010 5[d] 0 5 2 10 2 2011 8[f] 2 5 2 13 4 2012 5[c] 5 4 7 9 12 2013 5[c] 3 2 3 7 6 2014 7[d] 4 7 4 14 8 2015 6[g] 1 2 3 8 4 2016 10[h] 8 1 0 11 8 2017 5[c] 4 2 0 7 4 2018 4[d] 1 1 3 5 4 2019 6[g] 1 4 4 10 5 2020 4[c] 1 0 0 4 1 2021 14[i] 9 0 0 14 9 Total 109 46 47 34 156 80 Career total 130 59 49 37 179 96
