Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi '9' 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] 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.[note 3] With his country, he won the 2021 Copa América 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 in La Liga (192). He has the most international goals by a South American male (106). Messi has scored over 800 senior career goals for club and country, and the most goals for a single club (672).
Due to his short stature, Messi has a lower centre of gravity than taller players, which gives him greater agility, allowing him to change direction more quickly and evade opposing tackles;[35][36] this has led the Spanish media to dub him La Pulga Atómica ("The Atomic Flea").[37][38][39] Despite being physically unimposing, he possesses significant upper-body strength, which, combined with his low centre of gravity and resulting balance, aids him in withstanding physical challenges from opponents; he has consequently been noted for his lack of diving in a sport rife with playacting.[20][36][40] His short, strong legs allow him to excel in short bursts of acceleration while his quick feet enable him to retain control of the ball when dribbling at speed.[41] His former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola once stated, "Messi is the only player that runs faster with the ball than he does without it."[42] Although he has improved his ability with his weaker foot since his mid-20s, Messi is predominantly a left-footed player; with the outside of his left foot, he usually begins dribbling runs, while he uses the inside of his foot to finish and provide passes and assists.
Among his contemporary peers, Messi is most often compared and contrasted with Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of an ongoing rivalry that has been compared to past sports rivalries like the Muhammad Ali–Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing, the Roger Federer–Rafael Nadal rivalry in tennis, and the Prost–Senna rivalry from Formula One motor racing.[101][102] Although Messi has at times denied any rivalry,[103][104] they are widely believed to push one another in their aim to be the best player in the world.[105] Since 2008, Messi has won eight Ballons d'Or to Ronaldo's five,[106] seven FIFA World's Best Player awards to Ronaldo's five, and six European Golden Shoes to Ronaldo's four.[107] Pundits and fans regularly argue the individual merits of both players.[105][108] Beyond their playing styles, the debate also revolves around their differing physiques – Ronaldo is 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in) with a muscular build – and contrasting public personalities with Ronaldo's self-confidence and theatrics a foil to Messi's humility.[109][110][111] From 2009–10 to 2017–18, Messi faced Ronaldo at least twice every season in El Clásico, which ranks among the world's most viewed annual sports events.[112] Off the pitch, Ronaldo is his direct competitor in terms of salary, sponsorships, and social media fanbase.[112] After Messi led Argentina to victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a number of football critics, commentators, and players have opined that Messi has settled the debate between the two players
As messi won the world cup 2022 at qutar He is consisder as the greatest of all time player(G.O.A.T)
