Lionel Messi: The Start, The Rise, The King 
Introduction:
Everyone in the sporting world is familiar with Lionel Messi. No matter his age, Messi has a place in everyone’s heart. Because of his outstanding football gaming skills, Messi is considered the “Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.).” Today, Messi is one of the world’s highest-paid athletes. He plays for Barcelona and the Argentina soccer team as a forward. He also plays for Spain’s national team, as he has Spanish nationality. Argentina won the FIFA World Cup 2022, led by Lionel Messi. Messi earned the hearts of millions of people in addition to winning the tournament’s Golden Ball.
His extraordinary performances have earned him legendary status among fans and experts alike – but how did this incredible journey begin? This article will explore Lionel Messi’s rise to greatness, tracing his first steps as a budding young talent to become one of the most successful players in history.
The Start: Early Life
Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina. He is the third of Jorge Messi’s four children. His mother, Celia Cuccittini, was a magnet manufacturing workshop worker. Growing up in a football-loving family, Leo became passionate about the sport at a young age while playing with his older brothers and his cousins, who both played professionally. At four, he joined the local club Grandoli, where his father, Jorge Messi, served as his coach. However, his maternal grandmother Celia, who accompanied him to training and games, had the earliest impact on his development as a player. His grandmother’s passing, which happened just before his eleventh birthday, significantly impacted him.
Messi became a member of the Rosario club when he was six years old and has been a lifelong supporter of Newell’s Old Boys. Throughout the six years, he scored nearly 500 goals as a member of “The Machine of ’87” and amused fans by performing ball tricks during halftime of the first team’s home matches. The Messi family tried to arrange a trial with Barcelona in September 2000 since they had relatives living in Catalonia. First-team director Charly Rexach was interested in signing him, but at the time, the board of directors hesitated; it was pretty unusual for European clubs to sign foreign players at a young age. On December 14, Rexach offered a contract on a paper napkin.
In Feb 2001, The family went to Barcelona, where they settled into an apartment close to the stadium. With Newell’s, Due to a transfer disagreement, Messi rarely played with the Infantiles. After spending a year at Barcelona’s junior academy, La Masia, Messi eventually joined the Royal Spanish Football Federation (R.F.E.F.) in February 2002. After completing his growth hormone therapy at 14, Messi joined the “Baby Dream Team.”
In his first entire season between 2002-03, the Cadetes A won an unprecedented treble by winning the league, the Spanish Cup, and the Catalan Cup, and he topped the team in scoring 36 goals in 30 games. The Copa Catalunya championship game, which Barcelona won over Espanyol. A week after breaking his cheekbone during a league game, Messi was allowed to start the game under the condition that he wear a plastic protector. However, after finding the mask a burden, he removed it and scored two goals in 10 minutes before being released. At the end of the season, he received his first offer from a foreign team to join Arsenal, but he decided to stay in Barcelona while Fàbregas and Piqué soon left for England.
The Rise of The King:
Let’s consider his outstanding performances throughout the season.
2003-05:
Messi quickly progressed through the club ranks during the 2003–04 season, his fourth with Barcelona, making his debut for a record five youth teams in a single season. Before being promoted to Juveniles A, where he scored 18 goals in 11 league games, he only participated in one official game with the team. Messi made his first team debut in 2003, against José Mourinho’s Porto in a friendly at the age of 16 years. Barça’s new star player, Ronaldinho, addressed his teammates during his first practice with the senior team that he believed the 16-year-old would grow into an even better player than himself. Messi joined Barcelona C in addition to Juveniles A to gain more experience.
His first professional contract, which he signed on February 4, 2004, lasted until 2012 and had a €30 million buyout clause, reflecting his progress. His buyout clause immediately increased to €80 million when he made his debut for Barcelona B in the Segunda División B one month later, on March 6. That time, he was the youngest player to represent Barcelona in an official match at 17 years, three months, and 22 days. He finished the season with 36 goals across all official competitions, scoring for four of his five teams.
Messi signed his first contract as a senior team member on June 24, the day before his 18th birthday. He remained a Barcelona player for two years under his previous contract, but his buyout clause was raised to €150 million. He began in big matches like his first Clasico against rival Real Madrid on November 19 and Barcelona’s away win over Chelsea in the Champions League’s last 16 round, which followed an intense rivalry between the two teams. He scored eight goals in 25 games, including his first Champions League goal in a 5-0 victory against Panathinaikos on November 2, 2005.
2006-07:
While Barcelona began to decline over time, Messi emerged as one of the top players in the world during the 2006–07 season. He became the first player in 12 years to score a hat-trick in a Clásico on March 10, 2007, balancing the score after each Real Madrid goal to end the game in a 3-3 tie. His value to the club was reflected in a new contract that month that significantly raised his salary. Messi, who is only 20 years old, replaced Ronaldinho as Barça’s leading player after he lost his form. The Spanish media nicknamed him “Messiah.”
Even though he scored 16 goals in the 2007–08 season, Messi got the number 10 jersey after the latter left. He became the highest-paid player at the club when he agreed to a new contract in July, which included a €7.8 million yearly salary. His chronic muscular problems, which had left him out of action for eight months between 2006 and 2008, remained a significant worry heading into the new season.
2008-12:
He scored 38 goals in 51 games during his first consecutive season, the 2008–09 campaign, helping the team set a record with 100 goals across all competitions alongside Eto’o and winger Thierry Henry. As the youngest player in the tournament’s history and the top scorer in the Champions League this season with nine goals. A new contract was signed on September 18 that committed Messi to the team through 2016 and included a new buyout clause of €250 million. His annual income also jumped to €12 million due to this success. On December 19, Barcelona defeated Estudiantes de La Plata to win the FIFA Club World Cup, with Messi scoring the game-winning 2-1 goal with his chest.
In all competitions that season, Messi equaled Ronaldo’s club record of 47 goals in the 1996–97 season. Messi scored a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-0 second-leg victory over Sevilla to win the Supercopa de Espaa, the club’s first title of the 2010–11 season. With his hat trick against Atlético Madrid on February 5, 2011, Messi pushed the team’s run of victories in the league to 16, a record in Spanish football. He became Barcelona’s all-time top goalscorer in a single season with 53 goals, becoming the first player in Spanish football to surpass the 50-goal mark. He finished the season with 53 goals across all competitions. He was awarded the FIFA Ballon d’Or for his achievements in 2011, becoming history’s only player to win the award three times.
In 2012, Messi broke several long-standing records as he scored goals throughout the season. During that time, Messi overtook César Rodriguez’s 232 plans, which had held the record for 57 years, by scoring a hat-trick against Granada. Messi broke a record by scoring 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina in all competitions before the end of the year. Guinness World Records recognized his record for the most goals scored in a year. Messi again won the FIFA Ballon d’Or as the heavy favorite, making history’s only player to win the award four times.
2013-16:
Messi finished the season as the top scorer in Spain and Europe for the second year in a row with 60 goals across all competitions, including 46 goals in La Liga, making him the only player in history to win the European Golden Shoe three times. In 2013–2014, He scored 33 goals during his run, including a four-goal performance against Osasuna, and became the first player to score consecutively against all 19 opposition teams in La Liga. His goal-scoring run of success of 21 fast league games, a world record, was finished by additional hamstring damage sustained on May 12.
Messi suffered his worst season in five seasons during the second half of the 2013–14 season, yet he still scored 41 goals across all competitions. Only a year had passed since his previous contract update when Messi signed a new one. His new contract increased his salary to €20 million, or €36 million before taxes, making it the highest wage in sports. Messi scored twice on free kicks as Barcelona defeated Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup to kick off the 2015–16 campaign.
Messi set a record by bringing home the FIFA Ballon d’Or a record fifth time in his career on January 11, 2016. In the 2016 Copa del Rey Final between Barcelona and Sevilla at the Vicente Calderón Stadium on May 22, 2016, as the team celebrated winning the domestic double for the second consecutive season, Messi contributed to both goals as Barcelona defeated Sevilla 2-0 after extra time. Messi scored 41 goals as Barcelona’s attacking trio broke their record from the previous season by scoring 131 in all competitions.
With 51 goals for the season, Messi finished 2016–17 as Europe’s leading scorer, one goal ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovi. Messi scored 54 goals in total during the 2016–17 campaign, and his 37 La Liga goals contributed to him winning the Pichichi and European Golden Boot Awards for the fourth time in his career.
2017-18:
Messi surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo as the only player to reach this century mark during the 2017–18 season, but he did so in 21 fewer matches than the Portuguese player. Messi renewed his contract with Barcelona on November 25, keeping him with the team through the 2020–21 campaign after collecting his fourth Golden Boot. The amount of his buyout clause was €700 million.
Messi was selected as the new team captain for the 2019–2020 campaign in 2018–19. In his 435th league game, on January 13, 2019, Messi scored his 400th La Liga goal in a 3-0 home victory over Eibar, becoming the first player to achieve this milestone in just one of Europe’s top five leagues. He also won a record third straight Golden Shoe since the 2016–17 season, making him his sixth total. Messi’s absence from Barcelona’s U.S. tour was announced on August 5, 2019, due to a right calf injury.
Messi lost his worst match as a player on August 15 when Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 8-2 in a one-off game in Lisbon, leading Barcelona to lose the Champions League once again. After receiving his nomination, Messi was selected as one of the top three candidates for the 2020 Best FIFA Men’s Player award on November 25. On December 23, Messi scored against Real Valladolid in La Liga for his 644th goal for Barcelona, passing Pelé and Santos to become the man with the most goals for a single club. Messi, who leads La Liga in goals scored, was chosen the Pichichi Trophy winner for a record-breaking eighth time in his career.
2021-22:
Barcelona announced on August 5 that Messi would not be remaining at the club, Even though the two parties reached an agreement and were set to sign a contract that day. Messi announced his upcoming retirement from Barcelona at a sad press conference at Camp Nou. Messi signed a contract with Paris Saint-Germain on August 10, 2021. Messi finished his debut season in all competitions with 11 goals and 14 assists.
FIFA world cup 2022:
With high expectations, 35-year-old Lionel Messi played great at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, scoring seven goals in as many games. Although he was one goal short of Kylian Mbappe’s total and missed out on the Golden Boot, his performance was still enough to give Argentina its third World Cup victory in 36 years, which is a record. Messi had announced that Qatar 2022 would be his final World Cup, and there is no sign that he will play beyond the near future. But his manager, Lionel Scaloni, pointed out that if he made himself available for the 2026 edition, the door would be open in three and a half years.
F.A.Q.s
Q 1: Is Messi GOAT?
A: Undoubtedly, Argentina’s Lionel Messi is the GOAT of world football. The term “GOAT” stands for “Greatest of All Time,” and Messi is undoubtedly the best player to ever play the game of football in the modern era.
Q 2:Leo Messi: How rich is he?
A: According to Celebrity Net Worth, Lionel Messi is the most wealthy athlete in the world, with a net worth estimated at $660 million.
Q 3: Who has more goals, Ronaldo or Messi?
A: Cristiano Ronaldo is the current leading scorer in men’s international football, with 118 goals for Portugal. The third on the list with 98 goals for Argentina is Lionel Messi.
