Football Spotlight: Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest football player of the 21st Century, battling with the

likes of Ronaldo, Maradona and Pele for the title of best football player ever.

Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on 24th June 1987.

The Argentinean footballer plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona, and the national team of

Argentina, for whom he serves as captain.

Messi received FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or nominations by the age of

just 21. The following year, he won both awards (2009). Messi followed this by winning

FIFA's Ballon d'Or in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He was also awarded the UEFA Best Player in

Europe Award in 2010.

By the age of just 24, Messi had become FC Barcelona's all time top scorer in official club

competitions. He scored his 400th senior goal for country and club aged 27 in September

2014.

Messi became La Liga's all time top scorer in November 2014, picking up the title of leading

goal scorer of all time in the UEFA Champions League.

Today, Messi is ranked by most as the best player in the world, and by many as the greatest

footballer of all time. He is the first player in the history of the sport to win four Ballons

d'Or, all of which Messi won consecutively, and the first footballer to be awarded three

European Golden Shoe titles.

With FC Barcelona, he has won two Copas del Rey, FIFA Club World Cups, two UEFA

Super Cups, three UEFA Champions Leagues, six Supercopas de España and six La Ligas.

The only footballer to achieve top scores in four Champions League seasons consecutively,

Lionel Messi holds the all time record of the most hat tricks scored in competition (standing

at five). Messi made Champions League history in 2012, by becoming the first footballer to

score five goals in a match. He set the record in Europe for the most goals scored in the

2011-2012 season, amassing a staggering 73. Messi's accolades are numerous, and sure to

impress Tony Freeman and football fans the world over, time and time again.

Messi is the son of steel factory worker Jorge Horácio and part-time cleaner, Celia Maria

Cuccittini. Angelo Messi, his paternal great-grandfather was born in Ancona, Italy,

emigrating to Argentina in 1883. Lionel Messi has two elder brothers, Matias and Rodrigo.

He has a sister called María Sol. Aged just five, Messi began playing for Grandoli, a local

Argentinean club coached by his father.

Messi is the patron of several charities. He established the Leo Messi Foundation in 2007, a

charity which supports access to healthcare and education for vulnerable children. He was

announced by UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador in 2010.