Lionel andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel andɾes MESI] ( listen); born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world, according to many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only player in history to win five FIFA Ballon d'or, four of which he won consecutively, and the first player to win three European Golden shoes.[Note 2] with Barcelona he won eight La Liga titles and four Champions League titles and six super cups Spain titles, four copas del Rey, three super bowls Hefei three world Cup. Both a prolific scorer and creative playmaker, Messi's record-holder for number of goals scored in La Liga, La Liga season (50), football season (82) and calendar year (91) and most goals in the Spanish super Cup (12) and for most assists made in La Liga, and Copa America. He scored more than 500 senior career goals for club and country, making it the 10th most prolific scorer of all time.
Born and raised in Central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency as a child. At 13 he moved to Spain to join Barcelona, which agreed to pay for his treatment. After a quick progression through the youth Academy of Barcelona, Messi made his debut aged 17 in October 2004. Despite the fact that prone to injury early in his career, he established himself as an integral player for the club in the next three years, ending 2007 in the finals and the Golden ball and FIFA world Cup player of the year award, a feat he repeated the following year. His first continuous campaign came in the 2008-09 season, in which he helped Barcelona to achieve the first treble in Spanish football. At 22, Messi has won the Golden ball and FIFA world Cup player of the year award for field recording for a vote.
After three successful seasons, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballon d'or, including an unprecedented fourth. His personal record of the campaign in the 2011/12 season in which he set a La Liga and European record for number of goals scored in a single season, while establishing yourself as Barcelona top scorer in official competitions in March 2012. He again struggled with injury for the next two seasons, twice finishing in second place at the Golden ball for Cristiano Ronaldo, his career is perceived opponent. Messi returned to his best form during the 2014-15 campaign, breaking the all time goals in La Liga and the Champions League in November 2014[note 3] led Barcelona to a historic second treble.
Argentinian international Messi in his country's all time top scorer with 57 international goals. At youth level he won the 2005 FIFA world youth championship, ending the tournament with the Golden ball and Golden boot and the gold Olympic medals at the summer Olympic games in 2008. His style of play as a diminutive, left foot dribbler drew comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona, who said the teenager of his successor. After making his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the world Cup in 2006 of release and reached the final of the Copa America 2007, where he was named young player of the tournament. As the squad captain since August 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2014 world Cup, for which he won the Golden ball in 2015 and 2016 Copas America.