Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi was born and raised in Argentina and played his youth club soccer on Newell’s Old Boys from 1995 to 2000 and with Barcelona from 2000 to 2003. After seeing time on Barcelona’s C and B senior team’s from 2003 to 2005 he landed a spot on the Barcelona club team in 2004 and has since made 296 appearances over the last decade, scoring 262 goals. During that time he has also played on the Argentina national team. In the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup was named the best player and top scorer in route to helping his team to a World Championship. He’s since led his home country to an Olympic Gold Medal in 2008 and a runner-up performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he earned a spot on the 2014 FIFA World Cup Dream Team and earned the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. During Messi’s club career he has been a legendary performer, leading the Champions League in scoring for four consecutive seasons, setting the European record with 73 goals in a single season, and earning the European Golden Shoe three times. Messi has also led the UEFA Champions League in scoring four-times, been named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 2009, UEFA Best Player in Europe in 2011, FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and been named the World Soccer Greatest XI of All-Time in 2013.