Biography of Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as the greatest player of all time,Messi has won a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards,four of which he won consecutively, and a record five European Golden Shoes. He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won a club-record 32 trophies, including nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and six Copas del Rey. Both a prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga and in Europe's top-five leagues (416), a La Liga season and club league season in Europe (50), a club football season in Europe (73), most official goals in a calendar year (96), El Clásico (26), most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League (8), as well as those for most assists in La Liga (166) and the Copa América (11). He has scored over 685 senior career goals for club and country.