- リオネル・メッシ

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リオネル・メッシ

Argentine professional footballer. Eponyms and public art. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, [note 2] a record six European Golden Shoes , and in was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team.

Until leaving the club in , he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona , where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. He also holds the record for most international goals by a South American male Messi has scored over senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club.

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi relocated to Spain to join Barcelona at the age of 13, for whom he made his competitive debut aged 17 in October He established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, and in his first uninterrupted season in —09 he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football; that year, aged 22, Messi won his first Ballon d'Or.

Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning four consecutive Ballons d'Or, making him the first player to win the award four times and in a row. The following two seasons, Messi finished second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo his perceived career rival , before regaining his best form during the —15 campaign , becoming the all-time top scorer in La Liga and leading Barcelona to a historic second treble, after which he was awarded a fifth Ballon d'Or in Messi assumed captaincy of Barcelona in , and in he won a record sixth Ballon d'Or.

Out of contract, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain in August An Argentine international, Messi holds the national record for appearances and is also the country's all-time leading goalscorer. At youth level, he won the FIFA World Youth Championship , finishing the tournament with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe , and an Olympic gold medal at the Summer Olympics.

His style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with his compatriot Diego Maradona , who described Messi as his successor. This achievement would see him receive a record seventh Ballon d'Or in Messi has endorsed sportswear company Adidas since According to France Football , he was the world's highest-paid footballer for five years out of six between and , and was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in and In February , he was awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year , thus becoming the first footballer and the first team sport athlete to win the award.

Messi was born on 24 June in Rosario, Santa Fe , [12] the third of four children of Jorge Messi, a steel factory manager, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. On his father's side, he is of Italian and Spanish descent, the great-grandson of immigrants from the northcentral Adriatic Marche region of Italy and Catalonia , and on his mother's side, he has primarily Italian ancestry.

He's a dwarf, he's too fragile, too small. But immediately you'd realise that he was born different, that he was a phenomenon and that he was going to be something impressive. A lifelong supporter of Newell's Old Boys , Messi joined the Rosario club when he was six years old.

During the six years he played for Newell's, he scored almost goals as a member of "The Machine of '87", the near-unbeatable youth side named for the year of their birth, and regularly entertained crowds by performing ball tricks during half-time of the first team's home games. As the Messi family had relatives in Catalonia, they sought to arrange a trial with Barcelona in September First team director Charly Rexach immediately wanted to sign him, but the board of directors hesitated; at the time it was highly unusual for European clubs to sign foreign players of such a young age.

On 14 December, an ultimatum was issued for Barcelona to prove their commitment, and Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered a contract on a paper napkin. During his first year in Spain, Messi rarely played with the Infantiles due to a transfer conflict with Newell's; as a foreigner, he could only be fielded in friendlies and the Catalan league. Without football, he struggled to integrate into the team; already reserved by nature, he was so quiet that his teammates initially believed he was mute.

After a year at Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia , Messi was finally enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation RFEF in February During his first full season —03 , he was top scorer with 36 goals in 30 games for the Cadetes A, who won an unprecedented treble of the league and both the Spanish and Catalan cups.

A week after suffering a broken cheekbone during a league match, Messi was allowed to start the game on the condition that he wear a plastic protector; soon hindered by the mask, he took it off and scored two goals in 10 minutes before his substitution. During the —04 season , his fourth with Barcelona, Messi rapidly progressed through the club's ranks, debuting for a record five youth teams in a single campaign. French winger Ludovic Giuly explained how a teenage Leo caught the eye in a training session with Frank Rijkaard 's first team: "He destroyed us all They were kicking him all over the place to avoid being ridiculed by this kid, he just got up and kept on playing.

He would dribble past four players and score a goal. Even the team's starting centre-backs were nervous. He was an alien. To gain further match experience, Messi joined Barcelona C in addition to the Juveniles A, playing his first game for the third team on 29 November.

Towards the end of the season, he returned to both youth teams, helping the Juveniles B win the league. He finished the campaign having scored for four of his five teams with a total of 36 goals in all official competitions. During the —05 season , Messi was a guaranteed starter for the B team, playing 17 games throughout the campaign and scoring on six occasions. On 24 June, his 18th birthday, Messi signed his first contract as a senior team player. A starter for the first time, he gave a well-received performance against Fabio Capello 's Juventus , receiving an ovation from the Camp Nou.

Due to issues regarding his legal status in the Royal Spanish Football Federation , Messi missed the start of La Liga , but on 26 September, he acquired Spanish citizenship and became eligible to play. Messi worked to regain fitness in time for the Champions League final , but on 17 May, the day of the final, he was eventually ruled out. He was so disappointed that he did not celebrate his team's victory over Arsenal in Paris , something he later came to regret.

While Barcelona began a gradual decline, the year-old Messi established himself as one of the best players in the world during the —07 campaign. Already frequently compared to compatriot Diego Maradona , Messi proved their similarity when he nearly replicated Maradona's two most famous goals in the span of seven weeks. Messi collected the ball on the right side near the halfway line, ran 60 metres 66 yd , and beat five defenders before scoring with an angled finish, just as Maradona had done.

Rijkaard had fielded him despite warning from the medical staff, leading captain Carles Puyol to criticise the Spanish media for pressuring Messi to play every match.

After two unsuccessful seasons, Barcelona were in need of an overhaul, leading to the departure of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho. Upon the latter's departure, Messi was given the number 10 shirt. To combat the problem, the club implemented new training, nutrition, and lifestyle regimens, and assigned him a personal physiotherapist, who would travel with him during call-ups for the Argentina national team.

As a result, Messi remained virtually injury-free during the next four years, allowing him to reach his full potential. In his first uninterrupted campaign, the —09 season , he scored 38 goals in 51 games, contributing alongside Eto'o and winger Thierry Henry to a total of goals in all competitions, a record at the time for the club. As the season's Champions League top scorer with nine goals, the youngest in the tournament's history, [92] Messi scored two goals and assisted two more to ensure a 4—0 quarter-final victory over Bayern Munich.

Barcelona were crowned champions of Europe by winning the match 2—0, the second goal coming from a Messi header over goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Barcelona thus achieved the first treble in the history of Spanish football. His team's prosperity continued into the second half of , as Barcelona became the first club to achieve the sextuple, winning six top-tier trophies in a single year.

He's [like] a PlayStation. He can take advantage of every mistake we make. The new year, however, started on a less positive note for Barcelona, as they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Sevilla in the Round of After a first-leg draw, Barcelona won the second leg 4—0 with two goals and an assist from Messi. At that point, he effectively became the tactical focal point of Guardiola's team, and his goalscoring rate increased. A league match on 16 April ended in a draw after a penalty from Messi.

After Barcelona lost the Copa del Rey final four days later, Messi scored both goals in his side's 2—0 win in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals in Madrid, the second of which — a slaloming dribble past three Real players — was acclaimed as one of the best ever in the competition. In addition to his 31 goals, Messi was also the league's top assist provider with As Messi developed into a combination of a number 8 a creator , a 9 scorer , and a 10 assistant , [] he scored an unprecedented 73 goals and provided 29 assists in all club competitions during the —12 season , producing a hat-trick or more on 10 occasions.

As Messi maintained his goalscoring form into the second half of the season, the year saw him break several longstanding records. On 7 March, two weeks after scoring four goals in a league fixture against Valencia , he scored five times in a Champions League last round match against Bayer Leverkusen , an unprecedented achievement in the history of the competition. Despite Messi's individual form, Barcelona's four-year cycle of success under Guardiola — one of the greatest eras in the club's history — drew to an end.

Under manager Tito Vilanova , who had first coached him aged 14 at La Masia , Messi helped the club achieve its best-ever start to a La Liga season during the second half of , amassing 55 points by the competition's midway point, a record in Spanish football.

Barcelona had virtually secured their La Liga title by the start of , eventually equalling Real Madrid's point record of the previous season. However, their performances deteriorated in the second half of the —13 campaign , concurrently with Vilanova's absence due to ill health. Even if he is half lame, his presence on the pitch is enough to lift us and our play in general.

After four largely injury-free seasons, the muscular injuries that had previously plagued Messi reoccurred. After he suffered a hamstring strain on 2 April, during the first quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain , his appearances became sporadic.

In the second leg against PSG, with an underperforming Barcelona down a goal, Messi came off the bench in the second half and within nine minutes helped create their game-tying goal, which allowed them to progress to the semi-finals.

Still unfit, he proved ineffective during the first leg against Bayern Munich and was unable to play at all during the second, as Barcelona were defeated 7—0 on aggregate by the eventual champions. Messi continued to struggle with injury throughout , eventually parting ways with his long-time personal physiotherapist.

Statistically, his contribution of goals, shots, and passes had dropped significantly compared to previous seasons. Under new manager and former captain Luis Enrique , Messi experienced a largely injury-free start to the —15 season , allowing him to break three more longstanding records towards the end of the year.

At the start of , Barcelona were perceived to be headed for another disappointing end to the season, with renewed speculation in the media that Messi was leaving the club. His opening goal was hailed as one of the greatest in his career; he collected the ball near the halfway line and beat four opposing players, before feinting the goalkeeper to score in a tight space by the near post.

In the Champions League , Messi scored twice and set up another in their 3—0 semi-final victory over Bayern Munich, now under the stewardship of Guardiola. Messi opened the —16 season by scoring twice from free kicks in Barcelona's 5—4 victory after extra time over Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.

On 11 January , Messi won the FIFA Ballon d'Or for a record fifth time in his career. Some saw it as "a touch of genius", while others criticised it as being disrespectful to the opponent. The Celta players never complained and their coach defended the penalty, stating, "Barca's forwards are very respectful. Cruyff himself was "very happy" with the play, insisting "it was legal and entertaining". except Leo.

That's the reality, and you have to accept it. On 4 February , Messi scored his 27th free-kick for Barcelona in a 3—0 home win over Athletic Bilbao in the league, overtaking Koeman as the club's all-time top-scorer from free-kicks. His game-winning goal in stoppage time was his th for Barcelona. On 18 October, in his nd European club appearance, Messi scored his 97th UEFA Champions League goal, and his th in all UEFA club competitions, in a 3—1 home victory over Olympiacos.

His first goal was also his 10th league goal of the season, making him the first player ever to reach double figures in La Liga for 13 consecutive seasons.

On 13 January , Messi scored his th La Liga goal in his th league appearance in a 3—0 home win over Eibar, becoming the first player ever to manage this tally in just one of Europe's top five leagues.