Born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina, soccer player Lionel Messi
moved to Spain at the age of 13, after the FC Barcelona club agreed to
pay for hormone-deficiency treatments. Messi became a star in his new
country, scoring at will while leading his club to championships. In
2012, he set a record for most goals in a calendar year, and afterward
was named FIFA's "Player of the Year" a record fourth time.
CONTENTS
Synopsis
Early Years
King of Spain: Soccer Career
Early Years
Lionel Messi was born Luis Lionel Andres Messi on June 24, 1987, in
Rosario, Argentina. As a young boy, he tagged along when his two older
brothers played soccer with their friends, unintimidated by the bigger
boys. At the age of 8, he was recruited to join the youth system of
Newell's Old Boys, a Rosario-based club. Recognizably smaller than most
of the kids in his age group, Messi was eventually diagnosed by doctors
as suffering from a hormone deficiency that restricted his growth.
Messi's parents, Jorge and Ceclia, decided on a regimen of nightly
growth-hormone injections for their son, though it soon proved
impossible to pay several hundred dollars per month for the medication.
So, at the age of 13, when Messi was offered the chance to train at
soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, and have his
medical bills covered by the team, Messi's family picked up and moved
across the Atlantic to make a new home in Spain.
King of Spain: Soccer Career
Although he was often homesick in his new country, Messi moved quickly
through the junior system ranks, and by the age of 16, he had made his
first appearance for Barcelona. Messi put himself in the record books on
May 1, 2005, as the youngest player to ever score a goal for the
franchise. That same year, he led Argentina to the title in the under-20
World Cup, scoring on a pair of penalty kicks to propel the team over
Nigeria.
Messi eventually grew to 5 feet and 7 inches, and with his short
stature, speed and relentless attacking style, he drew comparisons to
another famous Argentinean footballer: Diego Maradona. Messi steered
Barcelona to a wealth of success, most notably in 2009, when the
left-footer's team captured the Champions League, La Liga, and Spanish
Super Cup titles. That same year, after two consecutive runner-up
finishes, he took home his first FIFA "World Player of the Year"
honor/Ballon d'Or award.
Even the great Maradona gushed about his fellow countryman. "I see him
as very similar to me," the retired player told the BBC. "He's a leader
and is offering lessons in beautiful football. He has something
different to any other player in the world."
Amazingly, the diminutive soccer wizard continued to improve,
discovering new ways to elude defenders while leading Barcelona to La
Liga and Spanish Super Cup championships in 2010 and 2011, as well as
the '11 Champions League title.
Messi embarked on an all-out assault on the record books in 2012. He
became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match
in early March, and a few weeks later he surpassed Cesar Rodriguez's
club-record 232 goals to become Barcelona's all-time leading scorer. By
the end of 2012, Messi had accumulated an astounding 91 goals in club
and international play, eclipsing the 85 netted in a single calendar
year by Gerd Muller in 1972. Fittingly, he broke one more record when he
was named the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner for the fourth time in January
2013
