Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi[note 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ⓘ; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was named the world's best player for a record eight times by FIFA.[note 2] Messi is the most decorated player in the history of professional football, with 44 team trophies.[note 3] Until 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, and the UEFA Champions League four times. Playing for Argentina's national team, he won two Copa América titles and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals (474), hat-tricks (36), and assists (192) in La Liga, most appearances (39) and assists (18) in the Copa América. He has the most international goals (109) and appearances (187) by a South American male. Messi has scored over 800 senior career goals for club and country, and the most goals for a single club (672) Copa América as captain in 2024.

Messi has endorsed sportswear company Adidas since 2006. According to France Football, he was the world's highest-paid footballer for five years out of six between 2009 and 2014, and was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2019 and 2022. Messi 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 it. In 2020, Messi was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team and became the second footballer and second team-sport athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings. In 2024, Messi founded Más+.