Interesting stories that you may not know about the Argentine star!

Lionel Messi is one of the best players world football has ever seen. Born in 1987 in Argentina, Messi took up football at an early age and quickly established himself as a prodigy.

In 2000, he joined FC Barcelona’s youth training system at the age of 13. And it only took 3 years for Messi to make his debut for Barcelona’s first team. He quickly took the starting role and gradually rose to the position of a world football superstar.

Messi has won countless individual awards, including a record 7 Golden Balls. He is Barcelona’s mainstay in its journey to conquer 4 Champions League trophies and 10 La Liga titles.

Despite his success on the field, Messi has faced countless difficulties and challenges throughout his career. As a child, he was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. Messi’s treatment is very expensive and becomes a financial burden for the family.

In 2021, he and his teammates were crowned Copa America champions. This is Messi’s first title with Argentina. Just one year later, this striker continues to be the “leader” of the national team on the journey to reach the World Cup gold trophy.

Off the field, Messi has his own charity fund to help children in difficult circumstances around the world. He also participates in many charity initiatives, including a project to build a children’s hospital in his hometown – Rosario, Argentina.

And here are 13 interesting things you may not know about Lionel Messi…

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Celebration of a filial nephew

The image of Messi pointing his hands to the sky after scoring has become a symbol of world football. However, few people know the story behind it.

This celebration is Messi’s gratitude to his grandmother Celia. It was she who sparked his love for football and encouraged him during his years of training at the academy.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Celia passed away in 1998 and never witnessed Messi play at his peak.

Can win the World Cup since 2010

Today, we all know that Messi is a legend of the Argentine national team. But in the early years of his career, the Spanish national team sent him an invitation. Messi is eligible to play for La Roja because he spent a long time training at Barcelona’s La Masia academy.

However, Messi affirmed that he never thought about playing for the Spanish team.

And the rest became history. Not only did he bring home fans the World Cup championship, he is also Argentina’s all-time leading scorer.

Used to confront idols

There are countless players in this world who consider Messi as a role model in their career. But, who is Messi’s idol?

His idol is fellow countryman Pablo Aimar. This midfielder used to play for Valencia and Real Zaragoza. Messi and his god have faced off many times in La Liga.

One of the most memorable matches with Messi in La Liga came in 2014. At that time, Messi was only on Barcelona’s reserve list and was not allowed on the field. But when the match ended, Aimar went to meet the 17-year-old player on the opposing side to give him his shirt. Currently, Messi still treasures that shirt very much.

In particular, Aimar is also part of the coaching staff of the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup. He is an assistant to head coach Lionel Scaloni.

A disastrous debut for the Argentina national team

On August 17, 2005, prodigy Messi was put on the field in a friendly match between Argentina and Hungary in Budapest. This was his debut in the national team shirt.

Messi entered the field to replace striker Lisandro Lopez in the 64th minute of the match. With what Barca showed, everyone on the field dreamed of Messi stirring up the defense and scoring.

But less than 1 minute after entering the field, the Argentinian prodigy was disqualified.

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Is related to my teammates at Barcelona

You may not believe it, but Messi is related to his former Barcelona teammate, Bojan Krkic. These two players are cousins.

Their ancestors are Mr. Mariano Perez Miralles and Ms. Teresa Llobera Minguet. They married in 1846 in Catalunya, giving birth to Ramon Perez and Goncal Perez.

Ramon’s son Jose Perez Sole moved to Argentina, while Goncal’s son Jaume Perez Civit continued to live in Catalunya.

Jose Perez Sole’s great-grandson is Lionel Messi, while Jaume Perez Civit’s great-grandson is Bojan.

Caught the ‘eye’ of coach Wenger

Former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger discovered Messi’s talent when he was training at La Masia Academy.

He tried to negotiate with Barcelona to bring him to London. However, Messi is considered the brightest star of Barca’s youth training system, so the club is determined to retain him.

In the end, Messi stayed with Barcelona and became one of the greatest players in history.

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Youngest Argentinian player to compete in the World Cup

In the Argentina national team, Messi first played in the World Cup in 2006. At that time, he was only 18 years, 11 months and 23 days old.

He became the youngest player of the Argentina national team to ever compete at the biggest football festival on the planet.

Scored the first hat-trick for Barcelona in the Super Classic match

The first hat-trick that Messi scored for Barcelona came on May 1, 2007. More specifically, it was a match against great rival Real Madrid in La Liga. At that time, Messi was only 19 years old and was the brightest ‘morning star’ of the Catalan team.

In this match, Messi opened the scoring with a stunning solo shot in the 14th minute. He scored a double in the 58th minute when he caught Ronaldinho’s pass and calmly finished. Messi completed his hat-trick in the 90th minute with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.

And Messi helped Barcelona have a 3-3 draw against great rival Real Madrid.

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Player who won the most titles with Barcelona

Lionel Messi has won 35 major trophies with FC Barcelona, ​​making him the most successful player in the club’s history.

His titles include: 10 La Liga, 7 Copa del Rey, 4 Champions League, 3 FIFA Club World Cup, 3 UEFA Super Cup and 8 Spanish Super Cup.

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The only player to have 2 World Cup Ballons

By winning the Golden Ball award at the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi became the first and only player in history to win this award twice.

He previously won the award at the 2014 World Cup.

Argentina’s highest scorer at the World Cup

By scoring 7 goals at the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi has scored 13 goals at the biggest football festival on the planet.

He surpassed legendary Gabriel Batistuta (12 goals) to become the Argentine player with the most goals in World Cup history.

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Record with Ballon d’Ors

Currently, Messi is the player who has won the most Golden Ball awards (Ballon d’Or), with 7 times.

He won his first Golden Ball in 2009, and continued to be honored in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.

The players behind Messi in the list of multiple Golden Ball winners are Cristiano Ronaldo (5 times), Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten (3 times) and Alfredo Di Stefano, Franz Beckenbauer, Kevin Keegan and Ronaldo Nazario ( 2 times).

La Liga’s greatest goalscorer

Messi is the player who scores the most goals in La Liga history. He has 474 goals in Spain’s top league.

Messi surpassed the previous record holder, Telmo Zarra, in 2014, when he scored his 252nd goal in La Liga.

Although Messi has moved to Ligue 1, it will be a long, long time before a player can surpass Messi’s scoring record in La Liga.