lionel messi

Lionel Messi, de son nom complet. Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccitini1, parfois surnommé Leo Messi, né le 24 juin 1987 à Rosario, est un footballeur international argentin évoluant au FC Barcelone. Il a depuis disputé plus de 600 matches sous les couleurs blaugrana, devenant ainsi le troisième joueur le plus capé de l'histoire du club. Le record mondial du nombre de buts inscrits sur une saison toutes compétitions confondues dans un championnat européen, Messi dépasse les 600 buts en carrière en 2018. Il est partie du onze des meilleurs footballeurs de tous les temps établi par World Soccer. L'Équipe le désigne troisième meilleur joueur sud-américain de l'histoire. Il est aussi désigné onze fois dans le classement des personnalités les plus influentes de la planète. Il a créé une fondation d'aide to l'enfance6 à l'âge de 20 ans.

Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina, the third of four children of Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini. At the age of four he joined local club Grandoli, where he was coached by his father. His earliest influence as a player came from his maternal grandmother, Celia, who accompanied him to training and matches. He was greatly affected by her death, shortly before his eleventh birthday, and has celebrated his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky in tribute to his grandmother.

A lifelong supporter of Newell's Old Boys, he played for them as a youth player, scoring almost 500 goals. At age 10 he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, which threatened his professional career. He was scouted by River Plate, but they were unable to pay for his treatment due to economic collapse. His goalscoring idol growing up was Ronaldo, with Messi calling him "the best forward I've ever seen".