Career Overview and Early Life
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history, Messi has set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional career, including eight Ballons d'Or, six European Golden Shoes, and being named the world's best player by FIFA eight times. In 2025, he was named the All-Time Men's World Best Player by the IFFHS.
Messi is the most decorated player in the history of professional football, having won 46 team trophies. His records include the most goals in a calendar year (91), most goals for a single club (672 for Barcelona), most goals in La Liga (474), most goals (21) and most assists (12) in the FIFA World Cup, as well as most assists in international football (65). Messi has scored over 910 senior career goals and provided over 410 assists for club and country, resulting in over 1,320 goal contributions—the highest total in the sport's history.
Club Career
Barcelona
In 2004, Messi made his competitive debut for Barcelona at age 17. He gradually established himself as an integral player for the club, and during his first uninterrupted season in 2008–09, he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. This resulted in Messi winning the first of four consecutive Ballons d'Or, and by the 2011–12 season, he had set the European record for most goals in a season and established himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. During the 2014–15 season, where he became the all-time top scorer in La Liga, he led Barcelona to a historic second treble, earning his fifth Ballon d'Or.
Messi was named Barcelona's captain in 2018. He won a club-record 34 trophies, including 10 La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues.
Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami
Financial difficulties at Barcelona led Messi to depart in 2021 and sign with Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the Ligue 1 title twice and was awarded the Ligue 1 Foreign Player of the Year for 2022–23. He joined the MLS club Inter Miami in 2023 and led them to their first MLS Cup victory in 2025, while also winning back-to-back league MVP awards in 2024 and 2025.
International Career
With Argentina, Messi is the national team's all-time leading goalscorer (125) and most-capped player (206). Several years after his senior debut in 2005, he won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Assuming captaincy in 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals in the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa América, and the Copa América Centenario, all of which they lost. After announcing his retirement from international football in 2016, he returned to help Argentina qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Messi was central to ending Argentina's 28-year trophy drought by winning the 2021 Copa América. In 2022, he led Argentina to its first World Cup win in 36 years and became the first player to win the Golden Ball twice. Messi claimed his third major international title after Argentina won the 2024 Copa América. He led Argentina to a third World Cup final in 2026.
Sponsorships, Wealth, and Legacy
Messi has endorsed the sportswear company Adidas since 2006. He was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2019 and 2022, and was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, 2012, and 2023. In 2020 and 2023, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, the first team-sport athlete to win the award.
In 2020, Messi became the second footballer and second team-sport athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings. In 2026, he appeared on the World's Billionaires list for the first time with a net worth of $1.1 billion. Following his arrival and impact on football in the United States, Messi was named Time's Athlete of the Year in 2023, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Joe Biden in 2025.
