Lionel Messi

 Lionel Messi [note 1[note 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ljo'nel and'dres 'mesi] (listen); born 24 June 1987), also called Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and is captain of the Argentina national team. The Argentine is widely thought of as one of the greatest footballers ever. Messi won seven Ballon d'Or Awards and a record number of European Golden Shoes and was named to the Ballon d'Or dream team in 2020. He spent his entire professional career with Barcelona until he quit the club in 2021. In Barcelona, he took home a club record 35 trophies including ten La Liga titles as well as seven Copa del Rey titles. Messi is a prolific goal scorer and creative playmaker. He holds records for the most goals scored in La Liga (474), the most goals in the course of a European league season (50), the most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) UEFA Champions League (8), the most assists in La Liga (192) and a La Liga season (21) as well as the Copa America (17). Also, he has the record for the most international goals by the average South American male (93). Messi has more than 785 senior career goals for his country and club, and has the record for the most goals by a player at one club (672). He was born in Argentina and relocated to Spain at the age 13 to join Barcelona. In the month of October 2004, he made his competitive debut at the age of 17. He established himself as an integral player for Barcelona within the next three years, and in his first uninterrupted season of 2008-09, he was instrumental in helping Barcelona get the first triple in Spanish football. That year, aged 22 years old, Messi took home his first Ballon d'Or. He took home four consecutive Ballons d'Ors, becoming the first player to win it four times in a row. [8] During the year 2011-12, he broke records in the La Liga and European records for the most goals scored during a single season, while setting records for the most goals scored in a single season.