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Birth
He was born in Argentina. Also born as Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini. -
Period: to
The World's Greatest Soccer Player
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First Years
At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge. -
The Machine of 87
Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario.[18] He became part of a local youth team that lost only one match in the next four years and became locally known as "The Machine of '87", the year of their birth. -
Messi's Break Through
At age 11,Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. -
First Day on Barcelona FC
Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of his talent as Messi had relatives in Lleida in western Catalonia, and Messi and his father were able to arrange a trial with the team. Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered Messi a contract written on a paper napkin. -
Messi Minor League
Messi played in FC Barcelona's junior Infantil B and Cadete B & A teams from 2000 to 2003 (scoring 37 goals in 30 matches in Cadete A). He was nearly released from the club in 2003 because of financial constraints, but his youth coaches convinced management to keep him (Cesc Fàbregas was released during this purge). Season 2003–04 saw him on a record five different teams: He started one match in Juvenil B (one goal) and got promoted to Juvenil A (14 matches, 21 goals) -
2005–06 Season
On 16 September, for the second time in three months, Barcelona announced an update to Messi's contract; this time it was improved to pay him as a first team member and extended until June 2014. Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on 26 September 2005. -
2006–07 Season
In the 2006–07 season, Messi established himself as a regular first team player, scoring 14 times in 26 matches.On 12 November, in the game against Real Zaragoza, Messi suffered a broken metatarsal, ruling him out for three months -
2010-2011 Season
On 21 August 2010, Messi scored a hat-trick in his first start of the season in a 4–0 victory over Sevilla FC in the Supercopa de España, helping Barcelona secure their first trophy of the season after a 1–3 first leg loss. On 19 September 2010, Messi suffered an ankle injury due to an ill-advised tackle by Atlético Madrid defender Tomáš Ujfaluši in the 92nd minute of their Round 3 match at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. At first sight it was feared that Messi suffered a broken ankle that could -
2014-2015 Season
Messi opened the 2014-15 La Liga season for Barcelona by scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Elche CF.In the following match against Villareal CF, he set up Sandro's match-winning goal, although he suffered an injury to an abductor muscle in his right hip
