Want to know more about Lionel Messi Biography? In this article, we will talk about everything you need to know about Lionel Messi Net worth 2020. We will also discuss who Lionel Messi is, Lionel Messi Lifestyle, his struggles, Lionel Messi Biography, his journey to the limelight, his personal life, Lionel Messi Wife, career, and family.
It is no news that Lionel Messi is the GOAT( Greatest Of All Time) football player. I mean if you literally ask anyone, whom they think is one the best football player of all time?, most of the response you would get is “Lionel Messi “.
I am sure you would agree with me on that. In this blog, we would discuss more on his early life, career, and down to his lifestyles.
Who is Lionel Messi?
Lionel Andrés Messi nicknamed “Leo” is a well-known name in the active world of sports. He is a legendary professional football player. Having developed a passion for football at an early age he grew to become a star player.
Despite his height, it didn’t deter him from his dream and at age 17 he was signed to play for Barcelona.
Lionel Messi catapulted the Barcelona football team to even much greater feat and became the only player in history to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or award, which he won four times consecutively.
Lionel Messi Biography
Lionel Andrés Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in a small warm city of Rosario, Argentina. Born in a middle-class family, he is the third among four children.
His father Jorge Messi, was a steel factory manager while his mother Celia Cuccittini worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop as a part-time cleaner.
The Messi family was a football loving family, in which Leo grew up in. Growing up his two older brothers and cousins constantly go out to play football and soon enough, young Leo began tagging along.
The rest of the boys, however, were much older than he was and were most times reluctant to let him join in.
During these times, Leo’s grandmother always went with him and insisted they allow him to play too. Watching Leo take his first football steps, she convinced his mother to buy his pair of cleats.
When Leo was four years old, he joined the Grandoli local club, where he was coached by his father and coach Salvador Aparicio.
His grandmother watched him almost every day as he trained. Two years later, Leo was spotted kicking a ball around while watching his brother play for the Newell’s Old Boys youth team. The club’s academy director, Carlos Marconi liked what he saw and invited Leo to play with his brother’s team on the pitch. He played so well it impressed him.
After this at age 8, he was quickly signed up by Newell’s Boys in Rosario. Leo was introverted and shy and was significantly shorter than most of the boys.
But he went on and scored almost 500 goals for Newell’s youth side.
History
When Leo was ten, his grandmother passed away. The family was devastated and young Leo was equally affected by her absence as his grandmother was his first influence.
He was so devastated that he didn’t practice football for weeks, but soon enough his father lifted his spirits again and told him to carry on for his club. He returned with a purpose to make his grandmother proud.
As the year went by, Leo played tremendously well. But as he grew older his height significantly remained the same.
At eleven years, his football dream was threatened he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency and treatment was too expensive for his family or Newell’s to afford which was $1,500 per month. Leo’s family had relatives in Catalonia, they sought to arrange a trial with Barcelona in September 2000, he was just 13.
Charles Rexach heard stories about a certain 13-year-old football prodigy and wasted no time in sending in Messi family and also promised to foot the medical bills if he passed the trials. His family moved to Spain with no money or a job.
After seeing Leo’s performance, Barcelona’s first team director Charles Rexach immediately wanted to sign him.
Despite not being able to find any paper, Rexach drew up a contract on a paper napkin which Leo signed. The Balugana agreed to pay for Leo’s treatment and so in 2001, Leo joined Barcelona’s academy La Masia.
Early football Career
Lionel Messi Early football Career actually started in 1995 at Newell’s Old Boys, where he played until the year 2000. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona who agreed to pay for his medical bills. While at the academy, he established himself early as a natural player with good dribbling instincts.
He was initially mistaken to be mute by his teammates, this was because he was so quiet and homesick.
Messi routine includes training during the daytime and receiving shots of hormones growth injections in his legs at night. Messi made spectacular progress at each different age levels, climbing through Barça C, followed by Barça B and the first team in record time. In 2003 aged 16, he made his debut with FC Barcelona’s first team during a friendly against José Mourinho’s.
His impressive performance put him up at the game won him positive ratings by sports writes and Barça star player at that time Ronaldinho spoke highly of his talents. At age 17, he became the youngest player in FC Barcelona history to score a goal against Albacete in 1 May 2005 and soon, he became a star performer for every team. Messi career at Barcelona got better through the years and reached its all time high during 2008-2009 season.
He helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football including Copa del rey, La Liga and the Champions League. At 22, Messi won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA world player of the year award. Over the years, he has a fast progression through Barcelona, in 2010 he won FIFA Ballon d’Or award and then again 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010-2011 UEFA Best Player in Europe. At 24, Messi Barcelona’s all-time top scorer in official club competitions. In September 2014 he scored his 400th goal Senior career and in November still that same year he became the all time top scorer in La Liga and the all-time leading goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League. He is ranked as one of the best players in the world and the greatest of all time. Messi became the youngest player to score 250 goals in La Liga and scored a hat trick against Seville to reach 253 La Liga goals at 27. In 2015, he again received his fourth Ballon d’Or award.
Accomplishments
In September 2016, he became the youngest player to make 100 appearances in the UEFA champions league. He however sustained a knee injury and returned to pitch on 21 November as a substitute appearance.
On 11 January 2016, he won FIFA Ballon d’or award for the fifth time and scored a hat trick in Barcelona win Valencia.
Over the years, he continued to add much wealth to the Barcelona team, and also got a Spain citizenship. He is the only player to have a record tying 4 European Golden Shoes including 29 trophies with Barcelona.
Lionel Messi Family and Wife
Lionel Messi met his wife Roccuzzo when they were growing up in Rosario, Argentina in 1996. However, their relationship didn’t start until 2007 and on 2009, they made their relationship official. On the 30 June 2017, he married Roccuzzo at a luxury hotel in the center of Rosario.
How Many Children Does Lionel Messi Have?
Lionel Messi has 3 children from his wife Roccuzzo. They include: Thiago Messi Roccuzzo (November 2012); Meteo Messi Roccuzzo (2015) and Ciro Messi Roccuzzo (2018).
Lionel Messi Net worth
Lionel Messi Net worth as of 2020 Forbes is valued at $400 million, while his salary as a footballer is $92 million.
Lionel Messi height and age
Lionel Messi is currently 33years old and due to his growth deficiency hormone, he is about 1.70 m (5ft 7).
Lionel Messi Cars and House
Lionel Messi’s net worth is enormous. There’s no doubt he can afford a fleet of cars and homes. Some of his more exotic cars include:
- Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti
- Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale –
- Audi R8 Spyder
- Maserati GranTurismo S
- Lexus RX 450h
- Range Rover Vogue
- Audi RS6 Avant Performance
- Ferrari F430 Spider
- Toyota Prius
- Pagani Zonda Tricolore
- 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
- Audi Q7
- Cadillac Escapade
- Mini Cooper
- Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
- Land Rover Range Rover Sport
- BMW I8
- Bugatti Veyron 16.4
Lionel Messi owns two mansions; a Luxury Duplex in Pedralbes Barcelona and a Castelldefels House in Barcelona Catalonia, Spain.
Is Lionel Messi Dead or Alive?
He is alive and active.
Lionel Messi Instagram Followers
As a famous legendary star, he has a huge followership of 161.6 million followers.
Lionel Messi Pictures
And now for the time you’ve all being waiting for. We have looked at Lionel Messi biography and net worth. Now, let’s look at some of his gorgeous photos.