Lionel Messi
Lionel
Andrés Messi (born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine
professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris
Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one
of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record seven Ballon d'Or
awards,[note 2] a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to
the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his
entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35
trophies, including 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA
Champions Leagues. With his country, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022
FIFA World Cup. A prolific goal scorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the
records for most goals in La Liga , most hat-tricks in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League , and most
assists in La Liga and the Copa America .
He has also the most international goals by a South American male . Messi has
scored over 790 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most
goals by a player for a single club.
Leo Messi's Wiki/Bio/Age/Family
Messi
was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe, the third of four children of Jorge Messi, a
steel factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet
manufacturing workshop. On his father's side, he is of Italian and Spanish
descent, the great-grandson of immigrants from the north-central Adriatic
Marche region of Italy, and on his mother's side, he has primarily Italian
ancestry. Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving family, "Leo"
developed a passion for the sport from an early age, playing constantly with
his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and his cousins, Maximiliano and
Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom became professional footballers. At the age of four he joined local club
Grandoli, where he was coached by his father, though his earliest influence as
a player came from his maternal grandmother, Celia, who accompanied him to
training and matches. He was greatly affected by her death, shortly before his
eleventh birthday; since then, as a devout Roman Catholic, he has celebrated
his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky in tribute to his grandmother.
Personal life/Relationship
Since
2008, Messi has been in a relationship with Antonela Roccuzzo, a fellow native
of Rosario. He has known Roccuzzo since
he was five years old, as she is the cousin of his childhood best friend, Lucas
Scaglia, who is also a football player. After keeping their relationship
private for a year, Messi first confirmed their romance in an interview in
January 2009, before going public a month later during a carnival in Sitges after
the Barcelona–Espanyol derby.
Messi
and Roccuzzo have three sons: Thiago (born 2012), Mateo (born 2015) and Ciro
(born 2018). To celebrate his partner's first pregnancy, Messi placed the ball under his shirt after scoring
in Argentina's 4–0 win against Ecuador on 2 June 2012, before confirming the
pregnancy in an interview two weeks later. Thiago was born in Barcelona on 2
November 2012. In April 2015, Messi
confirmed that they were expecting another child. On 30 June 2017, he married Roccuzzo at a
luxury hotel named Hotel City Center in Rosario. In October 2017, his wife
announced they were expecting their third child. Messi and his family are Catholic Christians.
Messi
enjoys a close relationship with his immediate family members, particularly his
mother, Celia, whose face he has tattooed on his left shoulder. His
professional affairs are largely run as a family business: his father, Jorge,
has been his agent since he was 14, and his oldest brother, Rodrigo, handles
his daily schedule and publicity. His mother and other brother, Matías, manage
his charitable organization, the Leo Messi Foundation, and take care of
personal and professional matters in Rosario.
Since
leaving for Spain aged 13, Messi has maintained close ties to his hometown of
Rosario, even preserving his distinct Rosarino accent. He has kept ownership of
his family's old house, although it has long stood empty; he maintains a
penthouse apartment in an exclusive residential building for his mother, as
well as a family compound just outside the city. Once when he was in training
with the national team in Buenos Aires, he made a three-hour trip by car to
Rosario immediately after practice to have dinner with his family, spent the
night with them, and returned to Buenos Aires the next day in time for
practice. Messi keeps in daily contact via phone and text with a small group of
confidants in Rosario, most of whom were fellow members of "The Machine of
'87" at Newell's Old Boys. While at Barcelona he lived in Castelldefels, a
village near Barcelona. He was on bad terms with the club after his transfer to
Barcelona, but by 2012 their public feud had ended, with Newell's embracing
their ties with Messi, even issuing a club membership card to his newborn son. Messi has long planned to return to Rosario to
end his playing career at Newell's. Messi holds triple citizenship, as he is a
citizen of Argentina, Italy, and Spain. His favourite meals include asado
(traditional South American barbecue), milanesa and pasta, and he prefers his
mate unsweetened.
Style of play
Due to his short stature, Messi has a lower centre of gravity than taller players, which gives him greater agility, allowing him to change direction more quickly and evade opposing tackles; this has led the Spanish media to dub him La Pulga Atómica ("The Atomic Flea"). Despite being physically unimposing, he possesses significant upper-body strength, which, combined with his low centre of gravity and resulting balance, aids him in withstanding physical challenges from opponents; he has consequently been noted for his lack of diving in a sport rife with playacting. His short, strong legs allow him to excel in short bursts of acceleration while his quick feet enable him to retain control of the ball when dribbling at speed.
His former
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola once stated, "Messi is the only player
that runs faster with the ball than he does without it."Although he has
improved his ability with his weaker foot since his mid-20s, Messi is
predominantly a left-footed player; with the outside of his left foot, he
usually begins dribbling runs, while he uses the inside of his foot to finish
and provide passes and assists.
Comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo
Messi
has been compared with Cristiano Ronaldo (left) throughout much of their
careers.
Among
his contemporary peers, Messi is most often compared and contrasted with
Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of an ongoing rivalry that has
been compared to past sports rivalries like the Muhammad Ali–Joe Frazier
rivalry in boxing, the Roger Federer–Rafael Nadal rivalry in tennis, and the
Senna–Prost rivalry from Formula One motor racing.
Although Messi has at times denied any rivalry, they are widely believed to push one another in their aim to be the best player in the world. Since 2008, Messi has won seven Ballons d'Or to Ronaldo's five, six FIFA World's Best Player awards to Ronaldo's five, and six European Golden Shoes to Ronaldo's four. Pundits and fans regularly argue the individual merits of both players. Beyond their playing styles, the debate also revolves around their differing physiques – Ronaldo is 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in) with a muscular build – and contrasting public personalities with Ronaldo's self-confidence and theatrics a foil to Messi's humility. From 2009–10 to 2017–18, Messi faced Ronaldo at least twice every season in El Clásico, which ranks among the world's most viewed annual sports events. Off the pitch, Ronaldo is his direct competitor in terms of salary, sponsorships, and social media fanbase.
Lionel
Messi Net Worth Overview
|
Article title |
Lionel Messi Net Worth |
|
Player name |
Lionel Messi |
|
Game |
Football |
|
Category |
Net Worth |
|
Spouse Name |
Antonella Roccuzzo |
|
Date of birth |
24th June 1987 |
|
Birth place |
Rosario |
|
Nationality |
Argentina |
Messi
net worth:
By the
time his contract with Barcelona was up, Messi net worth had almost $1.3 billion in sponsorships. He
has reportedly earned $400 million thus far from endorsement deals in addition
to an estimated $900 million in pay.
Some publications
misinterpreted that statistic and dubbed him a “billionaire.” After the 2020
season, he will sign a contract that will undoubtedly rank among the biggest
sports contracts. When all is said and done, it will probably have raised his
lifetime earnings to $1.5 billion.