Biography of Lionel Messi [Age, Height, Wife, Kids, Family, Salary, Award & Net worth ]

Though he himself does not think of so, a person who is denoted as God is Lionel Messi. A short but extraordinarily amazing player, Messi makes a match so interesting that no football fans can ignore him.

Additionally, this Argentine player is one of the history makers of football.

Truly, Messi is a legend, and there’s still more to see about him. A biography page may not summarize all about him, but Messi is making people what footballers are.

Besides his fans and the opponent team’s players, the coach also feels pleasure to see him play.

Lionel Messi.

Despite being a renowned player, Messi is also a fair player having exceptional passing vision and ability. He is often compared with another famous player, ‘Christiano Ronaldo,’ but both have their own playing styles.

Scratching more about this athlete, here are some quick facts about him up until now as below:

Quick Facts

Lionel Messi | Early Life

The Argentines football player Messi was born on the 24th of June 1987 in Santa Fe Province, Rosario, Argentina.

He was born with the name Lionel Andre Messi Cuccittini. Likewise, his father Jorge Messi was a factory steelworker, and his mom Celia Maria Cuccittini, a cleaner.

Meanwhile, he was raised with his two brothers playing soccer from an early age. Earlier, at the age of 8, Messi suffered from a hormone deficiency restricting his growth.

Later, his parents decided to inject him with a nightly growth hormone. Eventually, it became impossible for them to pay hundreds of dollars per month for the medication.

Lionel Messi | Career

Starting

Keeping aside his illness, from the age of 8, Messi started playing for Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys. Later, Spanish club FC Barcelona scouted him with a contract. And after completing his treatment, he played for the club’s youth teams at the age of 14.

From there, Messi excelled in the youth playing from team B. The way Messi played impressed the team manager Frank Rijkaard. And he was the one who urged him to move to the first team.

Eventually, Messi became the club’s youngest-ever player to play an official match debuting against Espanyol.

Accordingly, on 1st May 2005, Messi scored his first-ever goal against Albacete at the age of 17, becoming the youngest Liga scorer ever.

Moving on, Messi constantly kept on giving amazing performances in the Champions League matches. However, it is reported that many players were injured.

But, keeping that aside, Messi played a total of 17 league games, 6 Champions League, and 2 Copa del Rey scoring eight goals in the same season.

In the 2008-09 season, another legendary player Ronaldinho retired, and Messi got a chance to shine on. Eventually, he scored in the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals. In the same season, Barca won their first Club World Cup.

Peak Days

Accordingly, on the 2011-12 season, Messi maintained the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the Copa del Rey.

Similarly, in the next season, Messi ranked as the leading goalscorer by 369 goals of all-time at the club, beating Paulino Alcantara.

He suffered from hamstring injuries during the 2014-15 season, but he regained his record-breaking performances. At the end of 2014, he became the all-time leading scorer in LaLiga and the Champions League.

Eventually, this season becomes the most remarkable one as he surpassed Telmo Zarra’s 251 career goals from becoming the leading scorer in league history. Similarly, he surpassed Raul’s 71 career goals to become the all-time leading scorer in Champions League history.

In fact, in 2018, Messi became the captain just after Andres Iniesta departed.

More importantly, in 2019, Messi was declared the most decorated footballer in FC Barcelona history as he owes 34 trophies in his name. In addition, he was further declared as World’s highest-paid athlete in the world.

Lionel Messi | Argentina Career

As Barcelona is a Spanish club, Messi often stays in his country. For the first time, in 2005, he played for his country, Argentina, wearing his jersey. Unfortunately, he got to play only for two minutes as he came on elbowing on an opponent.

Eventually, he also made appearances at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

There was a recognition among a few faultfinders that Messi failed to meet expectations at the 2010 World Cup as Argentina come to the quarter-finals.

Consequently, he did not score but illustrated his excellent moves against Nigeria and South Korea within the gather stages.

For instance, he may not have been at his exceptionally best, but the 2010 World Cup was by no implies a write-off for Messi, who frequently shone in his position behind the strikers.

Hence, Messi showed up his better version at the 2014 World Cup guiding Argentina to the finals. But, again, Argentina lost against Germany despite having extra time.

Lionel Messi | Involvement in Social Work

As mentioned earlier, Messi suffered from a syndrome. And for the betterment of today’s generation, he established the Leo Messi Foundation 2007.

To summarize, the foundation is to support access to education and health care for vulnerable children. Also, funds cover the transport, hospital, and recuperation costs.

In 2010, he became the goodwill ambassador for UNICEF to support children’s rights.

Lionel Messi | Awards and Achievements

Messi had the top of the top starting from a very young age, breaking top records. And for those, he has been honored with numerous awards and achievements.

MESSI WON THE PRESTIGIOUS BALLON D’OR SIX TIMES-2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, AND 2019.

Besides winning the award as a young player of the year category, there are countless other prestigious awards, including World Soccer Young Player, FIFPro World Young Player, and Copa America Young Player of the Tournament.

On the other hand, he has been titled FIFA World Player of the Year, World Soccer Player, Goal.com Player, UEFA Best Player in Europe Awards.

Also, there were UEFA Club Footballer, FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament, La Liga Player, La Liga Foreign Player, and La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year.

Besides having amazing football techniques, Messi has been awarded for being the top goal scorer.

Some of those awards include IFFHS World’s Best Top Division Goal Scorer, IFFHS World’s Top Goal Scorer, UEFA Champions League Top Goalscorer, FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Goalscorer, and Copa del Rey Top Goalscorer.

By the year 2005, Messi was tagged with the name of European Golden Boy. Besides, in 2010-12, Messi won the European Golden Shoe thrice.

Similarly, he was honored with the FIDA Club World Cup Golden Ball twice in 2009 and 2011. Also, participating in Summer Olympics, he won the gold medal as the Argentine football national team.

Lionel Messi | Compared to Christiano Ronaldo

No player like Messi might have compared with another pro player like Christiano Ronaldo, knowing all football histories.

Getting each data, calculating each game’s status, updates, even counting each move, these two players get heavily compared with each other.

Despite having full respect and good relation with each other, comparison never stopped between these two. Being a pro player, Messi is also compared to other players like Neymar, Roney, and Ronaldinho.

Knowing more about these two players, Ronaldo was involved with renowned team Manchester United F.C and later Real Madrid, while Messi kept his continuity to Barcelona F.C until June 30, 2021. Later, Messi got transferred to PSG.

Despite playing more hundreds of games than Messi, Ronaldo’s average score is slightly lower than Messi. Meanwhile, comparing more about stats, Messi has given 85 more assists than him.

Football itself is an unpredictable sport where a single match could significantly differ between players.

Abilities and Ratings

Before anything, these two players, Messi and Ronaldo, are comparable because they both are over the top. Both have their own methods to show their thoughts, talent, tricks, and moves on the ground.

Likewise, these two have won numerous same kind of prestigious awards and achievements. That’s why Messi and Ronaldo are comparably comparable.

From domestic games, league, internationals to all-time careers, all scores of stats and goals get competitive from small marks of difference. Similarly, here’s a table of the same honors and achievements they have all over in their lifetime career:

The data mentioned above are as of 2021.

Apart from all of these, Christiano and Messi both have a huge fan following who have closely read them and saw their speed and style.

However, youngsters these days are fans of Ronaldo also because of his body structure, including appearances.

Also, Ronaldo has more brand endorsements, Instagram followers, and young fans comparing to Messi. Despite all, both are closely attached to their family and have supportive wives and children.

Lionel Messi | Family

It is obvious to link such a renowned player’s name with so many. But, Messi was in relation with his long-time girlfriend, Antonella Roccuzzo.

Antonella is eventually from Rosario. Thus, after having long years of relationship, Messi and Roccuzzo married on 30th June 2017. They got married at a luxury hotel named Hotel City Center in Rosario.

Messi’s fans adore the couple. Before the grand marriage, they had two children Thiago and Mateo, in 2012 and 2015.

After their marriage, they welcomed their third child Ciro Messi Roccuzz in 2018.

Lionel Messi | Net Worth

Constantly listed as the topmost paid athlete Messi is likely to be the richest player in the world. Besides all of the brand endorsements, Messi’s net worth is estimated to be $180 million.

Lionel Messi | Stats

Messi’s playing up until of 2019 season is that he made 687 appearances, scoring 603 goals. , Also he assisted 251 times with a shot accuracy of 48%. Thus, he created 348 chance balls.

Lionel Messi | Social Media Accounts

Unlike other player’s athletic body structures, Messi’s personality is more than enough to have several followers. Overviewing the top chart list, Messi lies among the Top 10 celebrities having maximum Instagram followers.

Besides brand endorsement, Messi shares his family moments and photos on his Facebook and Instagram walls. While on Twitter, Adidas runs an account under the name of TeamMessi. There, they share game updates and history with Messi.

Instagram: 191 million followers and 234 followings (@leomessi), as of 2021

Facebook: 101 million followers (Leo Messi), as of 2021

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

Is Messi a Billionaire?

Aside from being a player and celebrity, Messi is football’s second billionaire after Cristiano Ronaldo. He has a net worth of $835 million.

What could be the cost of Messi’s contract with Barcelona?

Messi signed a contract of $670 million with Barcelona in 2017 that ended in July 2021.

What kind of a relation does Messi have with Addidas?

It is reported that Messi signed a lifetime deal with Addidas in 2017. Addidas also runs TeamMessi’s Twitter account.