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Lionel Messi.

Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccitini

Lionel Messi — Athlete
Born Rosario, Argentina
Citizenship Argentina
Age 38 yr Today

19 min read

Reading time

3,732

Words

Published

62

Film credits

1

Book

64

Awards

TL;DR

Lionel Messi won the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina, scoring twice in the final and earning the Golden Ball. He has won a record 8 Ballon d’Or awards 2009-2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 and spent 17 seasons at FC Barcelona, scoring 672 goals in 778 appearances. He now plays for Inter Miami.

Identity & family.

KIN · 5

Names, aliases, and relatives of Lionel Messi — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Birth Name Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccitini
Nicknames La Pulga, Leo Messi, The G.O.A.T
Aliases Leo Messi
PARENTS
Jorge Messi
SPOUSES
Roccuzzo Antonela
CHILDREN
Aparicio Sarabia Mateo Messi Roccuzzo Ciro Messi Roccuzzo

At a glance.

STATS

Lionel Messi by the numbers — life, work, and family.

38 Age
62 Film credits
1 Book
64 Awards
1 Marriage
3 Children

Who is Lionel Messi?

BIOGRAPHY

Lionel Messi — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

Lionel Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. At age 11, doctors diagnosed a growth hormone deficiency. His local club Newell’s Old Boys could not afford the treatment, so FC Barcelona offered to pay if his family moved to Spain. They did, and Messi joined Barcelona’s youth academy at age 13.

Career

Messi made his La Liga debut for Barcelona on October 16, 2004, at age 16. He scored his first goal for the club in 2005. He won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009. Between 2009 and 2019, Messi won 10 La Liga titles and 4 UEFA Champions League trophies with Barcelona, playing alongside Xavi and Iniesta. In 2021, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain due to financial constraints. In 2023, he joined Inter Miami. Internationally, Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, earning the Golden Ball. He also won the Copa América in 2021 and the Olympic gold in 2008.

Personal life

He married Antonela Roccuzzo on June 30, 2017, in Rosario. They have three sons: Thiago born 2012, Mateo born 2015, and Ciro born 2018. He is close friends with fellow Argentine Sergio Agüero and has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2010.

Legacy

Messi holds records for eight Ballon d’Or wins, 91 official goals in a calendar year 2012, and being Barcelona’s all-time top scorer with 672 goals. He was named in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded to him in 2024.

Filmography.

FILMS · 62

Browse the complete filmography of Lionel Messi — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.

  1. TV Poster for Ronaldinho: the One and Only

    Ronaldinho: the One and Only

  2. Movie Poster for Messi

    Messi

  3. TV Poster for Real Madrid: Until the End

    Real Madrid: Until the End

  4. TV Poster for Universo Valdano

    Universo Valdano

  5. TV Poster for Protectors

    Protectors

  6. TV Poster for Captains of the World

    Captains of the World

  7. TV Poster for Messi's World Cup: the Rise of a Legend

    Messi's World Cup: the Rise of a Legend

  8. TV Poster for Neymar: the Perfect Chaos

    Neymar: the Perfect Chaos

  9. TV Poster for Matchday: Inside FC Barcelona

    Matchday: Inside FC Barcelona

  10. Movie Poster for Ronaldo

    Ronaldo

  11. TV Poster for The Royal Family

    The Royal Family

  12. Movie Poster for Ronaldo Vs. Messi: Face Off!

    Ronaldo Vs. Messi: Face Off!

  13. TV Poster for Six Dreams

    Six Dreams

  14. TV Poster for Informe Especial

    Informe Especial

Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 48

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Lionel Messi — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

  • World Cup Golden Ball
  • FIFA Ballon d'Or
  • Ballon d'Or
  • FIFA World Player of the Year
  • European Golden Shoe
  • Onze d'Or
  • Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano
  • Footballer of the Year of Argentina
  • Pichichi Trophy
  • L'Équipe Champion of Champions
  • Best International Athlete ESPY Award
  • Saint George's Cross
  • Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year
  • Alejandro buceta
  • Bravo Award
  • Premios Protagonistas
  • Ballon d'Or Dream Team
  • The Best FIFA Men's Player
  • UEFA Club Footballer of the Year
  • UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award
  • UEFA Team of the Year
  • La Liga Player of the Month
  • Marca Leyenda
  • Don Balón Award
  • Trofeo EFE
  • FIFA FIFPro World XI
  • Globe Soccer Awards
  • diamond Konex award
  • FIFA U-20 World Cup awards
  • list of UEFA Champions League top scorers
  • Premi Barça Jugadors
  • LFP Awards
  • World Soccer Award
  • UEFA Club Football Awards
  • FIFPRO
  • IFFHS World's Best Player
  • El País King of European Soccer
  • The Guardian 100 Best Footballers in the World
  • IFFHS World Team
  • IFFHS World's Best Playmaker
  • IFFHS World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer
  • IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer
  • IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer
  • Olimpia Award
  • Trofeo Gol Televisión
  • Trofeo Aldo Rovira
  • Mastercard All-Star Team
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom

Bibliography.

BOOKS · 1

Lionel Messi's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.

  1. Cover for L'Encylopédie Du Ballon D'Or

    L'Encylopédie Du Ballon D'Or

    by Gérard Ejnes et al.

Notable quotes.

QUOTES · 38

A wall of memorable lines from Lionel Messi — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.

Did you know?

FACTS · 50

Little-known facts about Lionel Messi — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 40

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Lionel Messi.

Audited & updated by

Olivia Brooks

Senior Staff Writer & Biography Editor

Olivia has 6 years of experience writing biographical profiles and still approaches every subject like it's the first one. She covers everyone from debut musicians to Hall of Fame athletes to novelists most people have never heard of. She finds something worth reading in all of them. Her drafts tend to come in already clean, which her editor appreciates. She says good writing is just good thinking written down. Hard to argue with that.

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