Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi was born on June 24, 1987, better known as Lionel Messi, is an Argentine footballer who currently plays as a striker for the Barcelona club and Argentina football team.

Biography of Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (more commonly known as Lionel Messi) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays as a striker for the Barcelona club and the national Argentina football team. He is one of the best players of all time and the best player in the world at the moment. You can see his skill on live football matches and follow schedules at https://dabong.net website. 

Career

He was rated as one of the best players of all time and the best player in the world of his time. He is also the owner of many noble titles such as the 2009 European Golden Ball, FIFA Player of the Year 2009, FIFA Golden Ball 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015. His play is compared to Diego Maradona who considered Messi his "heir".

Maradona once said: "The ball seems to stick to his feet; in my career, i have seen many outstanding players play the ball but no one holds the ball as well as Messi." Maradona also said that he believes Messi is the best player in the world right now.

Messi started playing football from an early age and his talent was discovered by the Barcelona club. He left his home team Newell's Old Boys in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe after Barcelona offered to support him with the cost of treating growth hormone deficiency. Having made his debut in the 2004-2005 season, he broke La Liga's youngest player record and became the youngest player to score in the league at that time. The titles that came to Barca in Messi's first season were the La Liga championship, and they won the double when they won both La Liga and the Champions League in 2006. 2006-07 was the breakthrough season for he: became a key player in the main team, scored a hat-trick in the El Clásico game and finished the season with 14 goals in 26 matches.

Since starting to play for Barcelona from 2005 until now, he has always been a key factor in every victory of Barcelona. Along with Barca, Messi has won many different titles, including 5 La Liga championships, 3 Champions League titles. He did not attend the 2006 Final against Arsenal, but Barca still won with a score of 2-1. He scored 2 goals in 2 finals in 2009 and final in 2011 against Manchester United. He currently holds the record for the most goals scored in a season for Barcelona with 53 goals. He is also the first person to win the UEFA Champions League Top Scorer Award 3 times in a row since this tournament was renamed.

Messi is the only player in the history of football to receive the Golden Ball five times, ranked above legends such as Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten (who have all received the Golden Ball three times). In 2012, Messi became the first player to score 5 goals in a UEFA Champions League match, in a 7–1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Messi is the top scorer of the 2005 U-20 World Cup with 6 goals, including 2 goals in the final. Not long after that, he was called to the Argentina national football team. In 2006 he became the youngest Argentine player to compete in the World Cup and finished second in the Copa América 2007. In 2008, in Beijing, he earned his first title at an international level when he played for the Argentine Olympic team and win the gold medal.

Lionel Messi made an unofficial debut for the first-team Barca in a friendly against FC Porto on November 16, 2003 (at the age of 16). Nearly a year later, Frank Rijkaard let him make his first La Liga debut against Espanyol on October 16, 2004 (aged 17 and 114 days), becoming the third-youngest player to ever play for Barca and became the youngest player of the team playing in La Liga (this achievement was later broken by Bojan Krkić in September 2007).

When he scored his first official goal against Albacete on May 1, 2005, Messi was only 17 years old, 10 months and 7 days, becoming the youngest player ever to score for Barcelona in La Liga until five 2007 when this achievement was broken by Bojan Krkic.

Competition style

Messi is often compared to Diego Maradona due to the similarity in play and physique between the two. The modest height gives him a lower center of gravity than many players, easily turning, changing directions and avoiding the opponents' ball. His short but strong legs help him to accelerate easily and his stride helps him control the ball well when dribbling at high speed.

Former Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola, once commented: "Messi is the only player who runs with the ball faster than he runs without the ball." Like Maradona, Messi is a left-footed player. He often uses the outside of his left foot to keep the ball, while using the inside of the left foot to finish, pass the ball and assist. Along with Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi is rated as one of the two best players in the world in his generation, and one of the best players of all time.

Tactically, Messi is free to play on the front line and occasionally plays the role of regulating the match. Thanks to the ability to finish, agile, dribble, balance, choose his position, observe and pass the ball, he can freely attack from either wing or from the middle of the field. Starting his career as left and forward striker, he was later transferred to a right-winger position by coach Frank Rijkaard. Frank Rijkaard realized that in this position, Messi was at his best.

When playing for Argentina, Messi competes anywhere on the front line. Starting as a striker or winger but also at lower positions, such as attacking midfielder and organized midfielder under Maradona.