Lionel Andrés Messi (born June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He has drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, and Maradona himself named Messi his "successor"
At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for the treatment of the illness that cost $1500 a month. Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of Messi's talent, and Barcelona signed him after watching him play, offering to pay for the medical bills if he was willing to move to start a new life in Spain. His family moved to Europe and he started in the club's youth teams
In June 2004, he got his first chance in Argentina colours, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay. In 2005 he was part of the team that won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. Here, he won the prize for best player of the tournament and became top-scorer.
On 4 August 2005, José Pekerman called Messi up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his debut on 17 August against Hungary, but it was a forgettable occasion. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off after just 40 seconds because the referee, Markus Merk, found he had elbowed defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious. Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi then had his first international start on 3 September in Argentina's 0-1 World Cup qualifier away loss against Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-début. The first one was a bit short."
On 4 August 2005, José Pekerman called Messi up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his debut on 17 August against Hungary, but it was a forgettable occasion. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off after just 40 seconds because the referee, Markus Merk, found he had elbowed defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious. Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi then had his first international start on 3 September in Argentina's 0-1 World Cup qualifier away loss against Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-début. The first one was a bit short."
With Ronaldinhos departure from the club, Messi inherited his number 10 jersey. On October 1, 2008 during a Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Messi scored two goals during the last seven minutes after coming on as a substitute for Thierry Henry, to turn the score from 0-1 to a victory for FC Barcelona 2-1. The next league game was versus Atletico Madrid, a match billed as a friendly battle between Lionel and good friend Sergio Aguero. Messi scored a goal from a free kick and assisted another as FC Barcelona went on to win the match 6-1. Messi netted another impressive brace against Sevilla scoring a spectacular dipping volley after being played through by Xavi and then rounding the keeper and slotting home from a tight angle to double his tally. On December 13, 2008, during the first Clásico of the season, Messi scored the second goal in Barcelona's 2-0 win over Real Madrid.
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