Lionel Messi: The 'Messiah' of football world

Born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina to Jorge Messi, a steel factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini. He developed a passion for the sport at an early age and spent his childhood playing football with his brothers. At the age of five, Messi started playing for Grandoli, a local club, coached by his father. By the time he turned eight, he was playing for Newell's Old Boys. In 2000, he began playing for FC Barcelona's under-14 team soon establishing himself as an integral player. At 18, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, finishing the tournament with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to score in a FIFA World Cup.CareerIn 2005 he became the youngest to score in a La Liga game for Barcelona.The same year he received the Spanish citizenship which allowed him to make a debut in the Championship League. In the 2006-07, he scored a hat-trick in El Clasico, thus becoming the youngest player ever to have scored in this fixture. On February 27, 2007 Messi played his 100th match for Barcelona against Valencia CF. In 2009, he helped his team win Copa del Rey, La Liga and finally the Champions League titles, making Barcelona the first Spanish club to win the treble in a year. Messi finished the 2010–11 season with 53 goals in all competitions combined, giving Barcelona their third Champion's League title in six years.In 2013 he scored for the 19th consecutive La Liga game, thus becoming the first footballer to score in consecutive matches against each team in the league. He scored his 500th senior career goal for club and country in 2016 in Barcelona's 2–1 home loss to Valencia. In May this year, Messi scored his 600th goal for Barcelona in their 3-0 win over Liverpool in the Champions League. He is the all-time top-scorer in the Spanish league La Liga, with 427 goals. Achievements & awardsMessi holds the Guinness World Records of most number of goals (91) in a calendar year. The top scorer in La Liga, UEFA Champions League, European and international competitions, he is also Argentina's top scorer (68 goals) and has the most number of hat-tricks scored by any Barcelona player. Tagged as the European Golden Boy in 2005, he has won a club-record 34 trophies. Messi has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and country. The recipient of numerous awards, honours and achievements, Messi also holds the record for the most hat-tricks in Champions League. Recently he scored the 34th hat-trick to equal Ronaldo's La Liga record.PhilanthropyBesides being a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Messi has his own charitable organisation, the Leo Messi Foundation, which supports access to health care, education, and sport for children. In 2013, he had donated €600,000 for the restoration of a children's hospital in his birthplace, Rosario.Personal LifeMessi married his long-time girlfriend Roccuzzo on June 30, 2017. They have two sons Thiago and Mateo. He lives in Barcelona.INTERESTING FACTS1. Messi's first ever contract was not made on any official stamp paper or a bond paper. FC Barcelona's sporting director Carles Rexach offered him to play for the club in a contract written on a paper napkin.2. Messi was offered to play for Spain's U-20 team at the international level but he had ruled out the offer due to his Argentinian heritage. Although He did agree to play for Argentina's U-20 team.3. During a Copa del Rey semi-final against Getafe in the 2006-07 season, he scored a goal similar to Maradona's goal in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, famously known as the 'Hand of God' goal. 4. Although the Argentine soccer star has a Spanish citizenship, he is of Italian origin. His paternal family is from the Italian city of Ancona. He is very close to his family, particularly his mother, Celia.5. Messi shares his birthplace, Rosario, with Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara. He is the international ambassador of Rosario. He financially supports Sarmiento, a football club based in his Rosario neighbourhood .Source: Wikipedia, Bbc, thefamouspeople.com, Forbes