Lionel Messi

Biography

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi 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 in history, Messi has set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career, including eight Ballon d'Ors, six European Golden Shoes, and eight times being named the world's best player by FIFA. In 2025, he was named the All Time Men's World Best Player by the IFFHS. He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football having won 45 team trophies. Messi's records include most goals in a calendar year (91), most goals for a single club, most goals in La Liga (474), most goal contributions in the FIFA World Cup (21), and most goal contributions in the Copa América (32). A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi has scored over 880 senior career goals and provided over 390 assists for club and country—the most of any player—resulting in over 1,270 goal contributions, the highest total in the sport's history.