Lionel Messi

Currently the best player in the world. Some believe, maybe even the universe.

Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini was born in Rosario, Argentina on June 24, 1987. Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for the Spanish team FC Barcelona.

The attacker has been playing for the same team FC Barcelona since 2004 and on February 2013, Lionel Messi extended his contract until the 2017/18 season.

Year	Goals	Games
2012	91	79
2013	45	47
2014	13	15

At the age of 5, Lionel Messi started playing football at his neighborhood club Grandoli that was led by his father. When he was 7 years old, he was allowed to enroll at Newell ‘s Old Boys (a local soccer team in Argentina) and then in the ‘cantera’, which is the youth team of FC Barcelona.

In the 2002/2003 season Lionel Messi together with Francesc Fàbregas, Gerard Pique, Marc Valiente and Víctor Vázquez formed the ‘Cadete A’ which was known as the Baby Dream Team. Via Barça C and the FC Barcelona B team, Messi worked his way to the top. While at the Barça B team, Lionel Messi scored 37 times in 21 games; that’s a pretty big deal in the soccer community especially.

World records Lionel Messi currently holds:

• Record number of goals in one year: 91 (2012)
• Record number of goals in one season: 73 (2011-12)
• Record number of goals FIFA Club World Cup: 4
• Record number of international goals in a year (club + national team): 25 (2012)
• Record consecutive games scored in a league: 21 (2012-13)
• Record in one season to score more than 50 goals. 4 (2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
• Record that scores sequentially against all teams (19) from a league in one season (2012-13)
• First player to score in one season in all competitions and gives an assist (2011-12): La Liga, Spanish Cup, CL, Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup, World Club Teams