It's All About The GOAT - LEO MESSI

 

Leo Messi Won his 7th Ballon d'Or on 30th November 2021

“Once they said they can only stop me with a pistol. Today you need a machine gun to stop Messi.” - Hristo Stoichkov  - Bulgarian Footballer

Lionel Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina, to a working-class family. His father was a steelworker in a factory and his mother was a cleaner. He started playing from an early age and soon demonstrated his talent. However, at the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). This was a stunted condition and required expensive treatment, including the use of human growth hormone drugs.

He is an Argentine football player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the modern generation. He plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He has been named the FIFA World Player of the Year four times (already recorded). He is often referred to as the successor to Diego Maradona because he can score many goals and dribble past opponents.

His local club River Plate was keen to sign Messi but refused to pay for his treatment. However, Messi was tried in Barcelona and Carles Reschach was impressed. He provided Messi with  a contract (written on a paper napkin!) That included payment of Messi's treatment in Spain. Messi moved to Barcelona with his father and he became part of the famous FC Barcelona Youth Academy.

Lionel Messi is the first football player to win seven golden balls, the winner of the Olympic Champion and Multi-Champion League. On May 1, 2005, Lionel Messi scored Barcelona's debut goal in his official match. It happened in the Spanish Championship Game with Albacete. Throughout his career, Messi has surprised and amazed his fans with epic games and impressive goals.

Messi moved up the ranks and made his first appearance in the 2004/05 season, becoming the youngest player to score league goals. In 2006, Messi was part of a one-two team that won both the LaLiga (Spanish League) and the Champions League. Next season (2006-07), Messi was the striker of choice at the age of only 20 and was an integral part of the Barcelona team-he scored 14 goals in 26 league games. In the 2009-10 seasons, Messi set a record for Ronaldo in Barcelona, ​​scoring 47 goals in all tournaments. As the season progressed, Messi improved and broke his own record. In the calendar year of 2012, he broke the all-time world record for most goals scored in a calendar year. His final total of goals in 2012 was 91 – beating the previous record of 85 by German Gerd Muller, and Pele`s milestone of 75 in 1958.

Recent news - Leomessi won the 7th Ballon d'Or today at the Chatelet in Paris. The French Football Award recognizes him as the best player in the world in 2021. On this occasion, he won the competition between Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho, who stood next to him on the podium. With this latest victory, Argentine Ace gains his honour and becomes the most decorated player in the history of the award.

At the beginning of 2013,  Messi scored 292 goals from  359 appearances in club football and  31 goals from 76 appearances in international football. In late 2012, Messi declined a very favourable offer to play for an unknown Russian team. It would have paid Messi € 20 million a year and made Messi the most expensive player in the world (Barcelona would have earned € 250 million). He declined his offer because he was uncertain whether he would compete in a major European championship and had difficulty moving to Russia. Instead, he signed a contract with Barcelona until the end of 2018. Messi showed his commitment to Barcelona when asked about his move to the English Premier League.

Leo Messi won his first International Trophy "Copa America 2021" beating favourites Brazil 1-0

Since Messi grew up in Spain, he has been a Spanish citizen since he was 11 years old. He was offered the opportunity to play for the U20 in Spain in 2004, but Messi chose Argentina, his country of birth. He led Argentina to victory in the 2005 FIFA Youth Cup. Messi made his full international debut in a friendly match against Hungary in August 2005. In his first game, Messi was sent off for allegedly kicking a player with his elbow. This decision was controversial and did not match Messi's playing style. 

Messi's playing style is generally based on the spirit of clean and fair play. He was rarely criticized for diving. In 2006 he participated in the World Cup and became the youngest player in Argentina to participate in the World Cup. Argentina lost in the quarterfinals. In 2008, he won the Argentine Olympic gold medal in  Beijing Olympic football. Initially, Barcelona did not allow him to play, but new manager Pep Guardiola allowed him a break. At the 2010 World Cup, Messi wore the 10th shirt and played well to help Argentina advance to the quarterfinals, but Messi struggled to score and Argentina was disappointed by Germany in the quarterfinals. Messi admits that he really wants to play in the finals of the World Cup. 

Messi's success at the World Cup will be the final test of size. Meanwhile, Pele was part of Brazil's three-time World Cup winners '58, '62 and '70. Messi is widely considered to be one of the most exciting players of our time at all ages. He has an unparalleled ability to dribble and take on opponents. Maradona states that his ball control is excellent. "The ball sticks to his foot. I've seen great players in my career, but I've never seen anyone with Messi's ball control." Messi said, a kid playing soccer. I want to keep the joy of how to do it.

International Career Highlights

The final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup was the final of the 2014 World Cup. This is the 20th FIFA tournament for the national soccer team. The game was played on July 13, 2014, at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,  by Germany and Argentina.

Argentina beat Group F with three wins,  defeating Switzerland in the 16th round, defeating Belgium in the semifinals and the Netherlands in the semifinals. The final was held in front of 74,738 viewers and more than a billion television viewers, directed by Nicola Rizzoli of Italy. Gonzalo Higuain missed Argentina's goal chance in a match against German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the first half, and Benedikt Höwedes gave Germany the opening goal shortly before half-time. Lionel Messi had a chance to score in a match against Neuer shortly after half-time, but his low shots were widespread. In the 71st minute, André Schürrle and Mesut Özil almost scored a goal, but Thomas Müller lost control of the ball and was defeated by Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero. 90 minutes later, in a goalless game, two-thirds of Germany cleared the deadlock by entering overtime. Mario Götze, who was replaced shortly before the start of the match, admitted Schürrle's left-to-chest cross and fired a volley shot with his left foot to defeat Germany 1-0. Messi won the Golden Ball as a FIFA World Player of the Year in the tournament.

The 2015 Copa América Final was the final match of the 2015 Copa América, a CONMEBOL-organized international football tournament held in Chile. The match took place on July 4, 2015, at Santiago's Estadio Nacional, and was contested by Chile and Argentina. It was time for a Penalty shootout as the match ended 0-0 after the second half of extra time. In the penalty shootout, Matas Fernández of chile converted the first penalty, sending it past Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero, and Messi converted Argentina's first attempt to keep the score level [the only goal of the entire Argentina shootout] after the first round. Vidal came in second, scoring despite Romero making contact with his shot. Higuain then missed with a shot that was too high. Aránguz scored on a powerful effort, and Bravo then saved Banega's shot. Alexis Sánchez won the penalty shootout with a Panenka-style finish. Chile defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw to win their first title. 

The Copa América Centenario Final was an association football match held on June 26, 2016 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States to determine the Copa América Centenario winner. Argentina and Chile competed in the match, which was a rematch of the 2015 final. Argentina and Chile faced each other in Group D of this tournament, and Argentina won with a score of 2-1. However, after a 0–0 tie in the final, Chile won 4–2 on penalty kicks. After Argentina's third consecutive final defeat, forward Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football, saying "I've done everything I can. It's difficult not to be a champion." On August 12, 2016, Messi reversed his decision and announced his return to international football, saying, "There were too many things going through my head on the day of the last final, and I seriously considered letting it go, but I love my country and this jersey so much."

The 2021 Copa América Final was a football match to determine the 2021 Copa América champions. The match was the 47th Copa América final, a quadrennial tournament contested by the men's national teams of CONMEBOL member associations. On July 10, 2021, the match was held at Maracan Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Argentina and the tournament's hosts, Brazil, faced off in the match. Argentina won the match 1–0 to win their fifteenth Copa América title and first since 1993, giving captain Lionel Messi his first senior international trophy sixteen years into his career and bringing an end to a 28-year trophy drought. Messi was named the tournament's best player and shared the top goalscorer award with Colombia's Luis Daz.

"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it." - Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi will go down in history as one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen – and there are no words to describe his brilliance.