Biography-Lionel Messi

“The Argentine Has Been Hailed By Many as the New Maradona” - Sports

VOL:1 ISSN:35 Lionel Messi (born 24 June 1987 in Rosario) is an exciting Argentine soccer player, who currently plays as a second striker for FC Barcelona. He has shown remarkable ability for a player so young, and is often touted in the media as “the new Diego Maradona”
Barcelona
Lionel Messi started playing football at a very early age for his hometown club Newell's Old Boys. From the age of 11, he suffered from a hormone deficiency and as his parents were unable to pay for his treatment in Argentina, they decided to move to Barcelona, Spain. Shortly after arriving, Lionel tried his luck with a trial at FC Barcelona, despite being only 13 years of age.
He excelled at the trial and rapidly found himself starting for the Barcelona B team, averaging more than a goal per game.

In October 2004, Messi made his official debut for the first team against RCD Espanyol, becoming the third-youngest player to ever play for FC Barcelona. He scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete on 1st May 2005.
On 27th June 2005, FC Barcelona renewed his contract until 2010, establishing a selling clause of €150 million.
Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on September 25 and was finally able to make his debut in this season's Spanish First Division. He had previously been unable to play because FC Barcelona had not filled their quota of non-EU players.
Messi's first outing in the UEFA Champions League at the Nou Camp was on September 28, 2005 against the Italian club Udinese. He impressed with some great passing and a seemingly telepathic relationship with Ronaldinho that earned him a standing ovation from the 70,000-odd Nou Camp faithful.
Argentina
Lionel Messi was offered the chance to play for the Spanish national football team, but declined, preferring to wait for the opportunity to play for the country of his birth. In June 2004 he got his chance, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay.
In June 2005 Messi starred for the Argentina U-20 team that won the Football World Youth Championship in The Netherlands, picking up the Golden Boot as top scorer with 6 goals, and the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. Despite his youth, Lionel was already being compared to Diego Maradona, one of the greatest football players of all time.
On August 4, José Pekerman called him up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his debut against Hungary - coincidentally the very same side that Maradona debuted against for Argentina. However, he only played for three minutes of the game, being shown a red card and making him leave the field in his first attempt on goal.
In 2006, he won the Champions League and the Spanish League Title (La Liga) with Barcelona, in a team that comprises of former World Best Player (Ronaldinho) of Brazil and two times African Best Player (Samuel Eto’o) of Cameroon.
Messi wins Ballon d’Or
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or as European best footballer of the year on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, becoming the first Argentine in receiving the prestigious accolade. He was voted by 96 voters that gave him 473 points out of a possible 480. “Honestly, I knew that I was among the favorites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009,” Messi told the press. “But I didn’t expect to win with such a margin.
The Ballon d’Or is very important to me. All the players who won it were great players, and some great players never won it,” he added.
On Monday 21st December, 2009, Messi was awarded FIFA’s world player of the year. The accolade came after the player won four major titles with Barcelona – La Liga, the Champions League, the King’s Cup and most recently the Club World Cup.
“This finishes a magnificient year for Barcelona, my team mates and for me,” said Messi after receiving the trophy from UEFA President and former France international, Michel Platitn.
Messi was the leading scorer in the Champions League, bagging nine goals one of which was scored in the 2-0 defeat over Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final. He also notched the extra-time winner against Estudiantes in the Final of the recently concluded World Club Cup Championship.