Meet The Players

Lionel Messi

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Lionel Andrés Messi (born 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina) is an Argentine international football player, who currently plays for FC Barcelona in the Primera División. Often touted in the media as New Maradona, Messi has been publicly named as his "successor" by Diego Maradona himself.^[1]

Lionel Messi was born in Santa Fe Province on June 24, 1987. At the age of five, he started playing football for Grandoli, a club coached by his father. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys.^[2] At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.^[3] River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for the treatment of the illness, which cost over £500 a month. As Argentina's economy was collapsing, Carles Rexach, then sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of Messi's talent, and Barcelona signed him after watching him play,^[4] offering to pay for the medical bills if he was willing to move to start a new life in Spain.^[2] His family moved with the young player to Europe and he starred in the club’s youth teams.^[4]

He soon found himself starting for the Barcelona B team, averaging more than a goal per game, by scoring 37 goals in 30 matches.

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. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on May 1, 2005, Messi was 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for FC Barcelona.

Messi was offered the chance to play for the Spanish national side, but he 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 played in the U-20 team that won the Football World Youth Championship in 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 June 27, FC Barcelona renewed his contract until 2010, establishing a selling clause of €150 million (which happens to be 30 million more than his teammate in Barcelona, Ronaldinho).^[2]^[5]

Personal information
Lionel Messi

Full name	Lionel Andrés Messi
Date of birth	June 24, 1987 (1987-06-24) (age 19)
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina
Height	169 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Supporting striker / Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Barcelona
Number	19
Youth clubs
1995–2000 2000–2004	Newell's Old Boys Barcelona B
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–	Barcelona	50 (19)
National team
2005–	Argentina	19 (5)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 May 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Honors

With Argentina National Team:

FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005

With FC Barcelona:

Personal Honours:

Golden Ball: FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005
Golden Boot: FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005
Golden Boy: 2005
Olimpia de Plata: Argentinian Player of the Year: 2005
FIFPro World Young Player of the Year: 2006

For the full article go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messi

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