A player with extraordinary talent, Lionel Messi is already considered a football legend while he is still active. A look back at his exceptional career.
Since winning the World Cup with Argentina on December 18, 2022, Lionel Messi can claim GOAT status. “Greatest Of All Time”, that is to say the greatest of all time. And yet, the eight-time winner of the Ballon d’Or started from very far away. The son of a manufacturing plant worker and a housekeeper, the Rosario native suffered from a growth problem during his childhood. Benefiting from treatment with growth hormones to make up for his height deficit, Messi signed his first professional contract with FC Barcelona in February 2004, a club to which he had arrived three years previously to finalize his training at La Masia.
With the Blaugrana, the one nicknamed “La Pulga” (“the Flea”, in Spanish) wins all possible competitions at least once: La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, the Copa del Rey, the League of champions, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup. Often unhappy in the selection, he finally won the two major trophies he could claim: the Copa America in 2021 and the World Cup the following year. In terms of statistics, the Albiceleste international has an impressive number of records, mainly those concerning his number of goals scored. A look back at several moments of his immense career.
