Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés Messi (born June 24, 1987) is an Argentine forward regarded across the sport as one of the greatest players in the history of association football. Over eighteen years at FC Barcelona he became the club’s all-time leading scorer and won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards; with Argentina he captured the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 World Cup, and — in the closing act of his international career — the runner-up finish at the 2026 World Cup. Since July 2023 he has played in Major League Soccer for Inter Miami CF, where he added a Leagues Cup, a Supporters’ Shield, an MLS Cup, and back-to-back league MVP awards.

Vitals
Born	June 24, 1987, Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Position	Forward (right winger / attacking playmaker), left-footed
Teams	FC Barcelona (2004–2021), Paris Saint-Germain (2021–2023), Inter Miami CF (2023– )
Draft	None — joined FC Barcelona’s La Masia academy in 2000
Contract status	Signed with Inter Miami CF in July 2023 (through 2025); reported multi-year extension in 2025. Under contract as of Sept. 16, 2026
Number	10

La Masia and the making of a prodigy

The Rosario boy. Messi was born and raised in Rosario, where he joined local club Newell’s Old Boys as a child and was diagnosed at age ten with a growth hormone deficiency. Unable to afford the treatment in Argentina, his family accepted an offer from FC Barcelona, which agreed to cover the therapy and enrolled him in its La Masia academy; the Messi family relocated to Catalonia in 2000.

The debut. He made his competitive first-team debut for Barcelona on October 16, 2004, at 17, under manager Frank Rijkaard, and scored his first senior goal the following May.

Barcelona (2004–2021)

The record scorer. Across all competitions Messi scored 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barcelona, both club records, including a La Liga record 474 league goals. In the 2012 calendar year he scored 91 goals for club and country, surpassing Gerd Müller’s long-standing mark.

The trophy years. With Barcelona he won 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey, and four UEFA Champions League crowns (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015), part of 35 team trophies. He also claimed a record six European Golden Shoes as the continent’s top league scorer. His time at the club ended in August 2021, when Barcelona said it could not re-sign him under La Liga’s financial rules.

Paris Saint-Germain (2021–2023)

The French interlude. Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in August 2021. Over two seasons he recorded 32 goals in 75 appearances and won two Ligue 1 titles (2021–22, 2022–23) plus the 2022 Trophée des Champions. The spell was the least decorated of his career, and he left as a free agent in the summer of 2023.

Inter Miami and MLS (since 2023)

The arrival. Messi signed with Inter Miami CF in July 2023 on a deal reported to run through 2025, joining as a Designated Player in a package that reporting tied to equity and revenue-sharing arrangements with MLS and Adidas; a multi-year extension was reported in 2025 (Spotrac).

The instant silverware. He led Inter Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup, the club’s first trophy, scoring 10 goals in seven matches and winning the tournament’s Golden Boot and Best Player award as Miami beat Nashville SC on penalties in the final.

The record season. In 2024 Inter Miami won the Supporters’ Shield with an MLS-record 74 points, and Messi — with 20 goals in 19 league matches — was named the 2024 Landon Donovan MLS MVP. In 2025 he won the MLS Golden Boot with 29 goals, repeated as league MVP, and captured the MLS Cup, scoring the assists that anchored a 3–1 final win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on December 6, 2025, and earning MLS Cup MVP honors.

The MLS records. In May 2026 he became the fastest player to 100 career MLS goal contributions, reaching the mark in 64 games and eclipsing the previous record of 95. Through Sept. 16, 2026, at age 39, he again featured near the top of the league’s scoring charts.

Argentina and the World Cups

The all-time Argentine. Messi retired as Argentina’s most-capped player and all-time top scorer, with 207 caps and 125 goals — more than double Gabriel Batistuta’s previous scoring record. He won Olympic gold at Beijing 2008 and, after years of near-misses, the 2021 Copa América, where Argentina beat Brazil 1–0 and he took both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot.

The crowning. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Argentina beat France in the final, 3–3 after extra time and 4–2 on penalties, with Messi scoring twice in the match and seven goals across the tournament to win a record second Golden Ball. His record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or followed in 2023; the award later went to Rodri in 2024 and Ousmane Dembélé in 2025. In 2024 Argentina retained the Copa América, beating Colombia 1–0 in a final Messi left in tears with an ankle injury.

The last World Cup. At the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Messi captained Argentina to the final and scored eight goals — three against Algeria, two against Austria, and one each against Jordan, Cape Verde, and Egypt — lifting his career World Cup total to 21 in a record 34 tournament appearances. In the final on July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Spain won 1–0 after extra time, Ferran Torres scoring in the 106th minute after Argentina played the added period a man down following Enzo Fernández’s second booking. Messi did not score, and Argentina finished as runners-up. He announced his retirement from international football on August 31, 2026, making 207 caps and 125 goals his final national-team totals.

By the numbers

MLS regular season with Inter Miami CF:

Season	GP	Goals	Assists	G+A
2024	19	20	16	36
2025	28	29	19	48

Per MLSsoccer.com, regular season. Messi's 2023 arrival was cut short by injury after the Leagues Cup run, and the 2026 season was in progress as of Sept. 16, 2026.

Career totals

Per FBref and Wikipedia, through Sept. 16, 2026.

Ranks

• 1st Ballon d'Or wins, all-time (8)
• 1st Goals for FC Barcelona, all-time (672)
• 1st Argentina caps and goals, all-time (207 / 125)
• 1st European Golden Shoe wins, all-time (6)
• 1st World Cup appearances, all-time (34)
• 2nd World Cup goals, all-time (21, behind Kylian Mbappé's 22)

Per Wikipedia and FIFA World Cup records, through Sept. 16, 2026.

Honors

• 2022 World Cup champion
• 8× Ballon d'Or (record)
• 4× UEFA Champions League
• 10× La Liga
• 2× Copa América (2021, 2024)
• 6× European Golden Shoe (record)
• 2× Ligue 1 (2022, 2023)
• 2023 Leagues Cup
• 2025 MLS Cup
• 2× MLS MVP (2024, 2025)

Per Wikipedia and MLSsoccer.com, through Sept. 16, 2026.

The arguments

The greatest-ever debate. Messi’s résumé sits at the center of football’s longest-running argument. His supporters point to the record eight Ballon d’Or awards, the Barcelona goal records, and the 2022 World Cup as evidence he is the finest player the sport has produced; others advance Cristiano Ronaldo, whose scoring totals and Champions League record across multiple leagues make the comparison a matter of criteria rather than consensus. In Argentina the discussion is complicated further by Diego Maradona, whose 1986 World Cup remains a national touchstone. The debate is one of framing — peak versus longevity, individual brilliance versus team dominance — and it has never resolved to a single answer.

Did the trophy settle it? For years, critics argued that Messi’s international record — a run of lost finals between 2014 and 2016 — left a gap in his case. The 2021 Copa América and, decisively, the 2022 World Cup were widely read as closing that argument. Whether the 2026 runner-up finish, in which Argentina lost the final without registering a shot in regulation, revises the picture is contested: some frame it as a diminished 39-year-old carrying an overmatched side to a final, others as a reminder that the tournament’s ultimate prize eluded him a second time.

Was MLS a step down or a statement? Messi’s 2023 move to Inter Miami drew a familiar split. To some observers it represented a competitive descent from Europe’s elite; to others, backed by the attendance, viewership, and commercial figures that followed, it was the most consequential signing in the league’s history and an accelerant for the sport in North America ahead of a home World Cup. Both readings coexist in the record.

Why it matters

Messi’s career reshaped the statistical ceilings of the sport — the most Ballon d’Or awards, the most goals for a single club, a World Cup at last — while carrying a second act, in Major League Soccer, that lent the game in North America a stature it had not previously held. His final years compressed a full arc into a single figure: the record-holder still setting records, the champion who fell short one more time, and the departure, on his own terms, from the national team he had defined for two decades.