Coordinates	22°34′12″N17°5′1″N
playername	Cristiano Ronaldo
fullname	Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
dateofbirth	February 05, 1985
cityofbirth	Funchal, Madeira
countryofbirth	Portugal
height
position	WingerStriker
currentclub	Real Madrid
clubnumber	7
youthyears1	1993–1995 |youthclubs1 Andorinha
youthyears2	1995–1997 |youthclubs2 Nacional
youthyears3	1997–2001 |youthclubs3 Sporting CP
years1	2001–2003 |clubs1 Sporting CP |caps1 25 |goals1 3
years2	2003–2009 |clubs2 Manchester United |caps2 196 |goals2 84
years3	2009– |clubs3 Real Madrid |caps3 64 |goals3 69
nationalyears1	2001–2002 |nationalteam1 Portugal U17 |nationalcaps1 9 |nationalgoals1 6
nationalyears2	2003 |nationalteam2 Portugal U20 |nationalcaps2 5 |nationalgoals2 1
nationalyears3	2002–2003 |nationalteam3 Portugal U21 |nationalcaps3 6 |nationalgoals3 3
nationalyears4	2004 |nationalteam4 Portugal U23 |nationalcaps4 3 |nationalgoals4 1
nationalyears5	2003– |nationalteam5 Portugal |nationalcaps5 82 |nationalgoals5 27
pcupdate	19:46, 28 August 2011 (UTC)
ntupdate	23:38, 10 August 2011 (UTC) }}

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, (born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he was to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, made him the highest-paid football player in the world at the time, and his buyout clause was valued at €1 billion as per his contract.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup and played at Euro 2004 with Portugal. Ronaldo scored his first international goal in the opening game of the tournament against Greece, although Greece won 2–1. Portugal reached the final, which they again lost to Greece.

Ronaldo was the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the Champions League with United, was named best forward and player of the tournament and was the competition's top goalscorer as well as winning the European Golden Shoe, becoming the first winger to do so, and topping the Premier League Golden Boot award. He won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies, only missing the PFA Young Player of the Year, and was named the FIFPro, World Soccer and Onze d'Or Footballer of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years. Ronaldo holds the distinction of being the first player to win the FIFA Puskás Award, an honour handed by FIFA to the best goal of the year. He scored that goal from 40 yards out against FC Porto in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final match, while playing for Manchester United. Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United."

On 15 May 2011, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in a season in the history of Real Madrid with 51 goals, surpassing the club's previous high of 49 by Ferenc Puskás. He would later finish the season with a total of 53 goals, making him the first Real Madrid player to ever reach and surpass 50 goals in a season. Six days later, Ronaldo broke the record of most goals ever scored in a season in La Liga with 40, surpassing Telmo Zarra's mark established in 1951 and Hugo Sanchez's mark matched in 1990. Ronaldo also broke Zarra's record of most goals per minute, with a goal scored every 70.7 minutes. The newspaper Marca, the official deliverer of the Pichichi Trophy (the top La Liga goalscorer award), claimed that Ronaldo scored 41 goals. By doing so, he won the European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different championships.

Early life

Ronaldo was born in Santo António, a neighbourhood of Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. His second given name "Ronaldo" was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. His great-grandmother Isabel da Piedade was from Cape Verde.

Club career

Early career

At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club Nacional, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.

Sporting CP

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Academia Sporting, the club's football academy, in Alcochete. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season. He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002, which Sporting CP won 3–0 against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship.

When he was 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.

He was first spotted by then-Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16, but Liverpool declined to take him on because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills. However, he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.

Manchester United

2003–2006

Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for €15 million (£12.24 million) after the 2002–03 season. He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour."

Ronaldo made his team debut as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4–0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November 2003. Ronaldo ended his first season in English football by scoring the opening goal in United's 3–0 FA Cup final victory over Millwall.

He scored United's 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough. He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.

He was sent off in the Manchester derby at the City of Manchester Stadium on 14 January 2006 (a game which United lost 3–1) for kicking City's former United player Andrew Cole.

Ronaldo won his second trophy in English football in the 2005–06 season, scoring the third goal in Manchester United's 4–0 Football League Cup final victory over Wigan Athletic.

2006–2009

The 2006–2007 season proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first league title with Manchester United.

In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996. He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.

Despite rumours circulating in March 2007 that Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo, he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week (£31 million total) extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team history.

Ronaldo amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honour. In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year. Ronaldo was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Ronaldo's 2007–08 season began with a red card for a headbutt on Portsmouth player Richard Hughes during United's second match of the season, for which he was punished with a three-match ban. Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let players "provoke" him in the future. After scoring the only goal in a Champions League away match against Sporting, Ronaldo also scored the injury-time winner in the return fixture as Manchester United topped their Champions League group.

He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo scored his first hat trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table. He scored his twenty-third league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season. During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Lyon on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Ronaldo and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA. One month later, Lyon were fined CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.

On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory. The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Best's forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season. Ronaldo scored another brace in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and European matches as both a starter and substitute. Ronaldo's scoring streak was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the 2007–08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorca's Dani Güiza.

In the 2007–08 Champions League final on 21 May against league rivals Chelsea, Ronaldo scored the opening goal after 26 minutes, which was negated by a Chelsea equaliser in the 45th minute as the match ended 1–1 after extra time. His misfire in the penalty shoot-out put Chelsea in position to win the trophy, but John Terry shot wide right after slipping on the pitch surface, and Manchester United emerged victorious 6–5 on penalties. Ronaldo was named the UEFA Fans' Man of the Match, and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competitions, falling four short of Denis Law's team-record mark of 46 in the 1963–64 season.

On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year. Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrid's alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action. Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at United for at least another year.

Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July. He returned to action on 17 September in United's UEFA Champions League goalless group-stage draw with Villarreal as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung, and scored his first overall goal of the season in a 3–1 League Cup third round win over Middlesbrough on 24 September.

In a 5–0 win over Stoke City on 15 November 2008, Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United, both from free kicks. The goals also meant that Ronaldo had now scored against each of the other 19 teams in the Premier League at the time. On 2 December, Ronaldo became Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or recipient since George Best in 1968. He finished with 446 points, 165 ahead of runner-up Lionel Messi. He was awarded the Silver Ball after finishing with two goals as United won the Club World Cup on 19 December.

On 8 January 2009, Ronaldo was uninjured in a single-car accident in which he wrote off his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in a tunnel along the A538 near Manchester Airport. A breathalyser test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning. Four days later, he became the first Premier League player ever to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to being the first Portuguese player to win the award since Luís Figo in 2001.

Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea, in a 2–0 victory over Internazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals. In the second leg against Porto, Ronaldo scored a 40-yard game-winning goal as United advanced to the semi-finals. He later called it the best goal he had ever scored. Ronaldo participated in his second consecutive Champions League final, but made little impact in United's 2–0 loss to Barcelona. He finished with 53 appearances in all competitions, which was four higher than the previous year, but scored sixteen fewer goals (26) than his career-best total of 42 from the previous season.

On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club. It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson. When Ronaldo had eventually completed his transfer to Real, he expressed his gratitude towards Ferguson for helping him develop as a player, saying, "He's been my father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career."

Real Madrid

2009–10 season

On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million, after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract. Ronaldo's contract is worth €11 million per year and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause. He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July, where he was handed the number 9 jersey. The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano. Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.

Ronaldo made his Madrid debut on 21 July in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers. His first goal came one week later with a penalty in Madrid's 4–2 win over LDU Quito. On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real's second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against Deportivo La Coruña. On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free-kicks in a 5–2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real. He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances.

An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary, kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 ''El Clásico'' defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career in Madrid's 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later. Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Real's highest scoring league duo in their history.

2010–11 season

With the departure of Raúl during the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the No. 7 jersey for Real Madrid. On 23 October 2010, Ronaldo scored four goals against Racing de Santander, the most goals he has ever scored in a single match. This completed a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches (three in La Liga, one in the Champions League, and two for Portugal) in which Ronaldo scored in each match, totalling 11 goals, which is the most Ronaldo has scored in a single month. Before Real Madrid's 5–0 defeat by Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Ronaldo scored his second La Liga hat-trick of the season in a 5–1 win over Athletic Bilbao. His final match of the calendar year saw him score a hat-trick in a 8–0 trashing of Levante in the Copa del Rey.

Ronaldo began the 2011 with a very promising outlook, especially after Real Madrid acknowledged he had broken numerous goalscoring records, previously settled and held by classic players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hugo Sánchez, and Manuel Alday. Ronaldo began his scoring spree by scoring two vital goals in a tight 3–2 victory away to Getafe. He then consolidated his massive performances by scoring a hat-trick and assisting Kaká to score his first league goal after his return from injury, in a 4–2 victory over Villareal on 9 January. One game away from the middle of the season, Ronaldo had a very clear chance of breaking Telmo Zarra's and Hugo Sánchez's record of 38 League goals in a single season, since he was the league's top scorer with 22 goals, above Lionel Messi. However, shortly after, Ronaldo experienced the biggest goal drought in his entire career, scoring only 2 goals in more than a month. During this period, Real Madrid acknowledged to have hit the crossbar more than 12 times in the season, most of the shots belonging to Ronaldo and almost all having happened during crucial moments in drawn matches. Ronaldo then made a massive comeback by scoring a hat-trick in a 7–0 trashing of Málaga on 3 March 2011, but was affected by a muscle injury at the end of the match, which forced him to spend 10 days on the sidelines.

In April he made another massive comeback from injury, sustaining a three-game scoring streak (including 2 goals in Champions League quarter-finals against Tottenham Hotspur), thus arriving to the first of a historical series of four El Clásico encounters two goals short of breaking his personal record of 42 goals in all competitions in a single season, achieved at Manchester United in the 2007–08 season.

During the second league edition of El Clásico, Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot and took his tally to 41 goals, also taking his scoring streak to four games. On 20 April, Ronaldo scored the winning goal against Barcelona in the 103rd minute of the Copa del Rey final. This goal would later be chosen as both Ronaldo's and Real Madrid's best goal in the season by several fan polls, including those of Marca and Real Madrid's website. 7 May saw Real travel to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to take on Sevilla, where Ronaldo led the thrashing of a woeful Andalusian side, scoring four goals in a 6–2 victory. These four goals took him to 46 for the season which surpassed his previous record of 42 in a season playing for Manchester United. Three days later he reached 49 goals for the season, by scoring another hat-trick in a 4–0 home win against Getafe. On 15 May, after scoring two free-kick goals in a 3–1 win over Villarreal, he equalled the La Liga record with most goals in a season with 38, a record previously held by Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sánchez.

On 21 May, he scored two goals in the last league match of the season against Almería, taking his Pichichi total to 41, and La Liga total to 40, becoming the first and only player to score 40 or more goals in a La Liga season. By doing this, he won the European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different leagues. The sports newspaper Marca, who awards the Pichichi Trophy, included the goal scored on 18 September 2010 to Real Sociedad in Ronaldo's goal count, which some sources attribute to Pepe while others attribute to Ronaldo. Should this goal be granted to Ronaldo, his goal count in the Pichichi Trophy would tally 41 goals. However, careless of this goal polemic, Ronaldo's record-breaking figures became a source of major attention from public media, something that granted Ronaldo awards like Sports Illustrated XI, rating him as one of the world's best footballers.

2011–12 season

Real Madrid's pre-season began with a 4–1 victory over MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy, with goals from Callejón, Joselu, Ronaldo, and Benzema. Four days later Ronaldo scored a second half hat-trick in a 3–0 win against Guadalajara. Ronaldo's preseason performance was highly praised as world media kept hailing Ronaldo's extreme competitiveness and motivation, even during friendly matches. On August 17, 2011, Ronaldo scored his 100th goal with Real Madrid with a first-half equalizer against Barcelona in the second leg of the 2011 Spanish Supercup in the Camp Nou. On August 27, 2011, he opened the 2011–12 La Liga season with a hat-trick in a 6–0 win at Real Zaragoza.

International career

Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a 1–0 victory against Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003.

Euro 2004

Ronaldo was called up for Euro 2004, scoring in a 2–1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece and in a 2–1 semi-final win over the Netherlands. He was named in the team of the tournament despite finishing with only two goals. He also represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

2006 World Cup

Ronaldo was the second-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals, and scored his first World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.

During a quarter-final match against England on 1 July 2006, Ronaldo's United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off for stamping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee Horacio Elizondo's decision by aggressively complaining, after which he was seen in replays winking at the Portuguese bench following Rooney's dismissal. After the match, Ronaldo insisted that Rooney was a friend and that he was not pushing for Rooney to be sent off. On 4 July, Elizondo clarified that the red card was due to Rooney's infraction and not the fracas between Rooney and Ronaldo that followed.

The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United, and he allegedly told Spanish sports daily ''Marca'' that he wished to move to Real Madrid. In response to the speculation, Ferguson sent Portuguese assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to speak to Ronaldo in attempt to change his mind, a sentiment that was shared by Rooney. Ronaldo stayed, and signed his new five-year extension in April 2007.

Ronaldo was booed during Portugal's semi-final defeat to France, and missed out on the competition's Best Young Player award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans. Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFA's Technical Study Group awarded the honour to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo's behaviour as a factor in the decision.

Post-World Cup

One day after his 22nd birthday, Ronaldo captained Portugal for the first time in a friendly against Brazil on 6 February 2007. This move was in honour of Portuguese Football Federation president Carlos Silva, who had died two days earlier. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari explained, "Mr. Silva asked me to make [Ronaldo] captain as a gesture... [he] is too young to be captain, but Mr. Silva asked me, and now he is no longer with us."

Euro 2008

Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugal's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, behind Poland's Ebi Smolarek, but finished with only one goal in the tournament as Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany. When Carlos Queiroz was named Portugal's new coach in July 2008, he appointed Ronaldo as team captain.

2010 World Cup

On 15 June 2010, in Portugal's opening World Cup match against Côte d'Ivoire, Ronaldo was tackled by right-back Guy Demel, which led to an argument and both being booked. The next day, Portugal contacted FIFA to suggest that Ronaldo's yellow card be rescinded since he was "pulled into" the confrontation after having already moved away from the spot where he was tackled, but the appeal was rejected.

Ronaldo failed to make an impact in the World Cup; after going scoreless in the qualifiers, his only goal came in Portugal's 7–0 group stage thrashing of North Korea on 21 June, which marked his first international goal in 16 months. Portugal were ultimately eliminated by Spain in the Round of 16.

International goals

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Personal life

Ronaldo's father, José Dinis Aveiro, died of an alcoholism-related liver condition in September 2005 at age 52 when Ronaldo was 20. Ronaldo's mother and Manchester United coach have stated that he does not drink alcohol as a result and he has received libel damages over a ''Daily Mirror'' article that reported him drinking heavily in a nightclub while recovering from an injury in July 2008.

Ronaldo's autobiography, titled ''Moments'', was published in December 2007. Along with one of his sisters, Ronaldo opened a fashion boutique under the name "CR7" (his initials and shirt number). There are currently two CR7 shop locations, both of which are in Portugal; one in Lisbon and the other in Madeira.

On 9 June 2010, Madame Tussauds London unveiled Ronaldo's waxwork as part of the build-up to the World Cup. Ronaldo joined fellow footballers Steven Gerrard, Pelé and David Beckham at the event's venue.

Ronaldo announced that he had become a father on 3 July 2010. His official Facebook and Twitter pages reference the birth of his son and request privacy. The child, named Cristiano is in full custody of Ronaldo and under the care of his mother and sisters.

In August 2010, Ronaldo reached 10 million fans on Facebook and in doing so made history by becoming the first non-American personality ever to achieve that kind of success on the social networking site.

Ronaldo has previously dated English models Alice Goodwin and Gemma Atkinson, and since the start of 2010, he has been dating Russian model Irina Shayk.

Philanthropy

Television footage of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami showed an eight-year-old boy wearing a No.7 Portuguese football jersey who was stranded for 19 days after his family was killed. Following this, Ronaldo visited Aceh, Indonesia, to raise funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction.

In support of the victims of the 2010 Madeira flood, Ronaldo played in a charity match in Madeira between the Primeira Liga club FC Porto and players from Madeiran based clubs Marítimo and Nacional.

Career statistics

Club

:''As of 28 August 2011'' 3 4 5 9 17 31 18 26 40#notes gs2 3

Club	Season	League	Cup	League Cup	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists
rowspan="2"	Sporting CP		25	|	–	3	2	–	–			3	0	–	0	0	0	31	5	–
!Total	–!!3!!0!!–!!0!!0!!0!!31!!5!!–
rowspan="7"	Manchester United		29	|	3	5	2	0	1	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	40	6	3
2004–05 FA Premier League	2004–05	33	|	4	7	4	0	2	0	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	50	9	4
2005–06 FA Premier League	2005–06	33	|	6	2	0	0	4	2	1	8	1	0	–			47	12	7
2006–07 FA Premier League	2006–07	34	|	13	7	3	1	1	0	0	11	3	5	–			53	23	19
2007–08 Premier League	2007–08	34	|	7	3	3	0	0	0	0	11	8	1	1	0	0	49	42	8
2008–09 Premier League	2008–09	33	|	6	2	1	0	4	2	0	12	4	2	2	1	1	53	26	9
!Total	!196!!84!!39!!26!!13!!1!!12!!4!!1!!55!!16!!8!!3!!1!!1!!292!!118!!50
rowspan="4"	Real Madrid		29	|	7	0	0	0	–			6	7	0	–			35	33	7
2010–11 La Liga	2010–11	34	2||	10	8	7	0	–			12	6	4	–			54	53	14
2011–12 La Liga	2011–12	1	|	0	0	0	0	–			0	0	0	2	1	0	3	4	0
! Total	–!!18!!13!!5!!2!!1!!0!!92!!90!!21
Career total	!285!!156!!56!!37!!22!!1!!12!!4!!1!!76!!29!!12!!5!!2!!1!!415!!213!!71

¹Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Supercopa de España. ²Does not include one goal scored on 18 September 2010 against Real Sociedad. Some sources attribute it to Pepe, while others attribute it to Ronaldo.

International

National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
rowspan="9"	Portugal	2003	2	0
2004	16
2005	10
2006	14
2007	10
2008	8
2009	7
2010	11
2011	4
Total!!82!!27

Honours

Club

;Manchester United

Premier League: 3

:: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09

FA Cup: 1

:: 2003–04

League Cup: 2

:: 2005–06, 2008–09

FA Community Shield: 1

:: 2007

UEFA Champions League: 1

:: 2007–08

FIFA Club World Cup: 1

:: 2008

;Real Madrid

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2010–11

Individual

UEFA Euro All-Star Team: 1

:: 2004

Bravo Award: 1

:: 2004

FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year: 2

:: 2004, 2005

Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 1

:: 2006–07

UEFA Team of the Year: 5

:: 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10

Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 3

:: 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08

FIFPro World XI: 4

:: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10

PFA Young Player of the Year: 1

:: 2006–07

PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2

:: 2006–07, 2007–08

PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2

:: 2006–07, 2007–08

PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 4

:: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09

FWA Footballer of the Year: 2

:: 2006–07, 2007–08

Barclays Player of the Season: 2

:: 2006–07, 2007–08

Premier League Player of the Month: 4

:: November 2006, December 2006, January 2008, March 2008

Premier League Golden Boot: 1

:: 2007–08

Barclays Merit Award: 1

:: 2007–08

UEFA Champions League Topscorer: 1

:: 2007–08

European Golden Shoe: 2

:: 2007–08, 2010–11

UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 1

:: 2007–08

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1

:: 2007–08

FIFPro World Player of the Year: 1

:: 2007–08

FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 1

:: 2008

Ballon d'Or: 1

:: 2008

FIFA World Player of the Year: 1

:: 2008

Onze d'Or: 1

:: 2008

World Soccer Player of the Year: 1

:: 2008

FIFA Puskás Award: 1

:: 2009

Copa del Rey top goalscorer: 1

:: 2010–11

La Liga top scorer: 1

:: 2010–11

Orders

Officer of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique

Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)

References

External links

Real Madrid official profile

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

ESPN Profile

Profile at SoccerSurfer.com

}}

Category:Association football wingers Category:European Footballer of the Year winners Category:Expatriate footballers in England Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain Category:FIFA World Player of the Year winners Category:First Division/Premier League topscorers Category:Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Golden Globes (Portugal) winners Category:La Liga footballers Category:Living people Category:Madeiran footballers Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Olympic footballers of Portugal Category:Pichichi Trophy winners Category:Portugal international footballers Category:Portuguese Roman Catholics Category:Portuguese expatriates in Spain Category:Portuguese footballers Category:Premier League players Category:Primeira Liga players Category:Real Madrid C.F. players Category:Sporting Clube de Portugal footballers Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:World Soccer Magazine World Player of the Year winners Category:1985 births Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players

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Coordinates	22°34′12″N17°5′1″N
playername	Lionel Messi
fullname	Lionel Andrés Messi
dateofbirth	June 24, 1987
cityofbirth	Rosario
countryofbirth	Argentina
height
position	Striker / Winger
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	10
youthyears1	1995–2000
youthyears2	2000–2004
youthclubs1	Newell's Old Boys
youthclubs2	Barcelona
years1	2004–2005
clubs1	Barcelona B
caps1	22
goals1	6
years2	2004–
clubs2	Barcelona
caps2	178
goals2	121
nationalyears1	2005
nationalyears2	2008
nationalyears3	2005–
nationalteam1	Argentina U20
nationalteam2	Argentina U23
nationalteam3	Argentina
nationalcaps1	7
nationalgoals1	6
nationalcaps2	5
nationalgoals2	2
nationalcaps3	60
nationalgoals3	17
medaltemplates	}}

| pcupdate = 13:30, 7 July 2011 (UTC) | ntupdate = 10:17, 17 July 2011 (UTC) }} Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (born 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina) is a football player who currently plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team as a striker or winger. Considered one of the best football players of his generation, Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".

Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke his team record for the youngest footballer to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in the 2006–07 season; he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Messi then had the most successful season of his playing career, the 2008–09 season, in which he scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble-winning campaign. This record-breaking season was then eclipsed in the following 2009–10 campaign, where Messi scored 47 goals in all competitions, equalling Ronaldo's record total for Barcelona. He surpassed this record again in the 2010–11 season with 53 goals in all competitions.

Messi has won five La Liga titles, three Champions League titles, scoring in two of those finals, against Manchester United in both 2009 and 2011. He was not on the pitch as Barcelona defeated Arsenal in 2006, but received a winners' medal from the tournament. After scoring 12 goals in the 2010–11 Champions League, Messi became only the third player (after Gerd Müller and Jean-Pierre Papin) to top-score in three successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns. However, Messi is the first one to win the Champions League top scorer titles for three consecutive years after Champions League changed its format in 1992.

Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals, including two in the final game. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.

Early life

Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, to parents Jorge Horacio Messi, a factory steel worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner. His paternal family originates from the Italian city of Ancona, from which his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883. He has two older brothers named Rodrigo and Matías as well as a sister named María Sol. At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. The traditional River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for treatment for his condition which cost $900 a month. Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, had been made aware of his talent as Messi had relatives in Lleida, Catalonia, and Messi and his father were able to arrange a trial. Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered Messi a contract written on a paper napkin. Barcelona offered to pay for Messi's medical bills if he was willing to move to Spain. Messi and his father moved to Barcelona where Messi enrolled in the club's youth academy.

Club career

Barcelona

Messi made his official debut for the first-team on 16 November 2003 aged 16 years and 145 days, in a friendly match against Porto. Less than a year later, Frank Rijkaard let him make his league debut against RCD Espanyol on 16 October 2004 (at 17 years and 114 days), becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for Barcelona and youngest club player who played in La Liga. This record was broken by Bojan Krkić in September 2007. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on 1 May 2005, Messi was 17 years, ten months and seven days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for Barcelona until it was again broken by Bojan Krkić in 2007, scoring from a Messi assist. Messi said about his ex-coach Rijkaard: "I'll never forget the fact that he launched my career, that he had confidence in me while I was only sixteen or seventeen."

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 and was finally able to make his debut in the season's Spanish First Division. Messi's first home outing in the Champions League came on 27 September against Italian club Udinese. Fans at Barcelona's stadium, the Camp Nou, gave Messi a standing ovation upon his substitution, as his composure on the ball and passing combinations with Ronaldinho had paid dividends for Barcelona.

Messi netted six goals in 17 league appearances, and scored one Champions League goal in six. His season ended prematurely on 7 March 2006, however, when he suffered a muscle tear in his right thigh during the second leg of the second round Champions League tie against Chelsea. Rijkaard's Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and Europe.

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. Messi recuperated from his injury in Argentina, and his return to action came against Racing Santander on 11 February, where he came on as a second-half substitute. On 11 March, ''El Clásico'' saw Messi in top form, scoring a hat-trick to earn 10-man Barcelona a 3–3 draw, equalising three times, with the final equaliser coming in injury time. In doing so he became the first player since Iván Zamorano (for Real Madrid in the 1994–95 season) to score a hat-trick in ''El Clásico''. Messi is also the youngest player ever to have scored in this fixture. Towards the end of the season he began finding the net more often; 11 of his 14 league goals for the season came from the last 13 games. Messi also proved the "new Maradona" tag was not all hype, by nearly replicating Maradona's most famous goals in the space of the single season. On 18 April 2007, he scored two goals during a Copa del Rey semi-final against Getafe CF, one of which was very similar to Maradona's famous goal against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, known as the Goal of the Century. The world's sports press drew comparisons with Maradona, and the Spanish press labelled Messi as "Messidona". He ran about the same distance, , beat the same number of players (six, including the goalkeeper), scored from a very similar position, and ran towards the corner flag just as Maradona did in Mexico 21 years before. In a press conference after the game, Messi's team-mate Deco said: "It was the best goal I have ever seen in my life." Against RCD Espanyol Messi also scored a goal which was remarkably similar to Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal against England in the World Cup quarter-finals. Messi launched himself at the ball and connected with his hand to guide the ball past the goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. Despite protests by Espanyol players and replays showing it was clear handball, the goal stood.

2007–08 season

During the 2007–08 season, Messi scored five goals in a week leading Barcelona to the top four in La Liga. On 19 September he scored once as Barcelona defeated Lyon 3–0 at home in a Champions League match. He scored two goals against Sevilla FC on 22 September and then on 26 September, Messi scored another two goals in a 4–1 victory over Real Zaragoza. Next goal came in 4–1 away win against Levante UD in 29 September 2007. His second Champions League goal of the season came against VfB Stuttgart. On 27 February, Messi played in his 100th official match for Barcelona against Valencia.

Messi was nominated for a FIFPro World XI Player Award under the category of Forward. A poll conducted in the online edition of the Spanish newspaper ''Marca'' had him as the best player in the world with 77 percent of the vote. Columnists from Barcelona-based newspapers ''El Mundo Deportivo'' and ''Sport'' stated that the Ballon d'Or should be given to Messi, a view supported by Franz Beckenbauer. Football personalities such as Francesco Totti have declared that they consider Messi to be one of the current best footballers in the world.

Messi was sidelined for six weeks following an injury on 4 March when he suffered a muscle tear in his left thigh during a Champions League match against Celtic. It was the fourth time in three seasons that Messi suffered this type of injury. After coming back from the injury Messi scored his last goal of 2007–08 season against Valencia on 4 May 2008 in a 6–0 win. When the season was over Messi managed to score 16 goals and assisted 13 times in all competition.

2008–09 season

Upon Ronaldinho's departure from the club, Messi inherited his number 10 jersey. On 1 October 2008, during a Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Messi scored two goals during the last seven minutes, after coming on as a substitute for Thierry Henry, to turn a 1–0 deficit to a 2–1 victory for Barcelona. The next league game was versus Atlético Madrid, a match billed as a friendly battle between Messi and his good friend Sergio Agüero. Messi scored a goal from a free kick and assisted another as Barça went on to win the match 6–1. Messi netted another impressive brace against Sevilla scoring a volley from and then dribbling round the goalkeeper and scoring from a tight angle for the other. On 13 December 2008, during the first Clásico of the season, Messi scored the second goal in Barcelona's 2–0 win over Real Madrid. He was also named second in the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year awards with 678 points.

Messi scored his first hat-trick of 2009 in a Copa del Rey tie against Atlético Madrid which Barcelona won 3–1. Messi scored another important double on 1 February 2009, coming on as a second half substitute to help Barcelona defeat Racing Santander 1–2 after being 1–0 down. The second of the two strikes was Barcelona's 5000th league goal. In the 28th round of La Liga, Messi scored his 30th goal of the season in all competitions, helping his team to a 6–0 victory over Málaga CF in the process. On 8 April 2009, he scored twice against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, setting a personal record of eight goals in the competition. On 18 April, Messi notched his 20th league goal of the season in a 1–0 win at Getafe, allowing Barcelona to maintain their six-point advantage at the top of the league table over Real Madrid.

As Barcelona's season was drawing to a close, Messi scored twice (his 35th and 36th goals in all competitions) to cap a 6–2 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in what was Real's heaviest defeat since 1930. After scoring each goal, he ran towards the fans and the cameras lifting up his Barcelona jersey and showing another T-shirt that read ''Síndrome X Fràgil'', Catalan for Fragile X Syndrome, to show his support for children who suffer from the affliction. Messi was involved in the build-up to Andrés Iniesta's injury time goal against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final to send Barcelona through to face Manchester United in the final. He won his first Copa del Rey on 13 May, scoring one goal and assisting another two, in a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao. He helped his team win the double by winning La Liga. On 27 May he helped Barcelona win the Champions League by scoring a second goal in the 70th minute giving Barcelona a two goal lead; he also became the top scorer in the Champions League, the youngest in the tournament's history, with nine goals. Messi also won the UEFA Club Forward of the Year: and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year rounding off a spectacular year in Europe. This victory meant Barcelona had won the Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League in the one season, and was the first time a Spanish club had ever won the treble.

2009–10 season

After winning the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola asserted that Messi was probably the best player he had ever seen. On 18 September, Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona, running until 2016 and with a buy-out clause of €250 million included, making Messi, along with Zlatan Ibrahimović, the highest paid players in La Liga, with earnings of around €9.5 million yearly. Four days later, on 22 September, Messi scored two goals and assisted another in Barça's 4–1 win over Racing Santander in La Liga. He scored his first European goal of the season on 29 September in a 2–0 win over Dynamo Kyiv, and then took his goal tally to six goals in seven games in La Liga with a strike during a 6–1 routing of Real Zaragoza at Camp Nou.

Messi was named winner of the 2009 Ballon d'Or on 1 December 2009, beating runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo by largest ever margin of 473 to 233. Afterwards, France Football magazine quoted Messi as saying: "I dedicate it to my family. They were always present when I needed them and sometimes felt even stronger emotions than me."

On 19 December, Messi scored the winner in the final of the 2009 Club World Cup against Estudiantes in Abu Dhabi, giving the club their sixth title of the year. Two days later, he was given the FIFA World Player of the Year award, beating Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Kaká and Andrés Iniesta to the award. This was the first time he had won the award, and he became the first Argentinean to ever receive this honour. On 10 January 2010, Messi scored his first hat-trick in 2010 and his first hat-trick of the season against CD Tenerife in the 0–5 victory, and on 17 January he scored his 100th goal for the club in the 4–0 victory over Sevilla.

Messi then started an impressive run scoring 11 goals in five games. First he scored on the 84th minute against Málaga for a 2–1 win, then he scored two goals against UD Almería in a 2–2 tie. He continued his spree with an impressive week where he scored eight goals; he started by scoring a hat-trick against Valencia CF in a 3–0 home win, then he scored two goals against Stuttgart, in a 4–0 win that secured Barcelona's qualification to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and finally he scored another hat-trick against Zaragoza in a 4–2 away win, becoming the first Barcelona player to score back-to-back hat-tricks in La Liga. He played his 200th official match for Barcelona against Osasuna on 24 March 2010.

On 6 April 2010, for the first time in Messi's career he scored four goals in a single match, netting the lot in a 4–1 home win over Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final second leg. This also saw him overtake Rivaldo as Barcelona's all time greatest scorer in the competition. On 10 April, Messi scored his 40th goal of the season when he netted the first goal in a 2–0 away win against title-rivals Real Madrid in El Clásico. On 1 May, Messi played his 50th game of the season and scored two goals on a 4–1 away win against Villarreal. Just three days later, on 4 May, Messi scored two goals in another 4–1 win at home against Tenerife. Messi scored his 32nd goal of the La Liga season on 8 May, during an away win against Sevilla, and in the final match against Valladolid, he scored two goals in the second half to tie Ronaldo's club record of 34 goals in a single league season, set in 1996–97, and to finish four goals behind the all-time record held by Telmo Zarra. He was named La Liga player of the year for the second year in a row on 3 June 2010.

2010–11 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. He also began his league season with a goal, scoring after just three minutes against Racing Santander on 29 August 2010. He then continued his excellent form into the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Panathinaikos where he scored two goals, assisted another two and also hit the frame of the goal on two separate occasions.

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 have kept the star player away from the pitch for a minimum of six months, but MRI performed the next day in Barcelona showed he suffered a sprain in the internal and external ligaments of his right ankle. Team-mate David Villa stated "the tackle on Messi was brutal" after watching the video of the play and also added that he believed the Atlético defender "didn't go into the tackle to hurt". The incident caused widespread media attention and brought up the debate of equality in protecting all players in the game.

When Messi recovered he scored in a 1–1 tie against RCD Mallorca. He then scored another brace on the UEFA Champions League against København and helped the team to a 2–0 home win. He continued his impressive scoring run with braces against Zaragoza and Sevilla. After a prolific October, he started November scoring on an away 1–1 tie against København and an away 3–1 win against Getafe where he also assisted team-mates David Villa and Pedro Rodríguez. In the next fixture against Villarreal CF, he scored combining with Pedro, which gave Barcelona a 2–1 lead. He scored another goal and Barcelona won 3–1. This was the 7th consecutive match in which Messi scored, breaking his own previous record of 6. He also achieved the feat of scoring 50 goals in the calender year of 2010 with the 1st goal, while with the second goal, he achieved the same feat again, this time considering the goals he scored wearing a Barcelona shirt in 2010. Against Almería he scored his second hat-trick of the season in an impressive 8–0 away win, the second goal was his 100th La Liga goal. He scored on his ninth game in a row (10th including a friendly against Brazil) on a 3–0 away win against Panathinaikos. Messi's goalscoring run ended on 29 November at El Clásico but Barcelona still managed to win 5–0 with Messi assisting Villa twice. The next match day he scored a brace and gave an assist against Osasuna. He followed with another brace against Real Sociedad. In El Derbi, a match Barcelona won 1–5, he assisted teammates Pedro and Villa to score one goal each. His first goal in 2011 came against Deportivo La Coruña with a free kick on a 4–0 away win, where he once again assisted both Pedro and Villa.

Messi won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, beating his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Iniesta. Messi had been nominated for the awards for the fourth consecutive year. Only two days after he won the award he scored his first hat-trick of the year and third of the season against Real Betis. He began the second round of the league with a goal, scoring his second penalty against Racing Santander. After scoring the penalty kick, Messi revealed a message on his undershirt that said, "Happy birthday, mami.". He continued his goalscoring form with a brace against Almería in the Copa del Rey semifinal, and followed it up with another brace less than a week later against Hércules CF. On 5 February, Barcelona broke the record for most consecutive league wins with 16 victories after they defeated Atlético Madrid 3–0 at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to ensure the victory for his side and after the match he stated, "it's an honor to be able to pass a record set by a great like Di Stéfano" and "if the record has been around for so long is because it's very complicated to achieve and we have reached it by defeating a very difficult team who's going through a bad situation, which makes it even more difficult."

After two scoreless games he scored the winner against Athletic Bilbao in which Barcelona won 2–1. The next week he scored the first header of the season against Mallorca on a 3–0 away win. This victory was the equalising a La Liga record set by Basque club Real Sociedad in the 1979–80 campaign with a 19 unbeaten away matches. The record was broken after three days later when Messi scored the only goal on an away victory over Valencia. On 8 March, Messi scored two goals against Arsenal in a UEFA Champions League match at the Camp Nou, helping Barcelona win 3–1 and qualify to the quarter-finals of the competition. After failing to score for a month he scored a brace against Almería; the second goal was his 47th of the season, equalling his club record return of the previous season. He surpassed his record on 12 April 2011 by scoring the winner against Shakhtar Donetsk in a UEFA Champions League game, which put him in the record book as all time top scorer in a single season for Barcelona. He scored his eight goal on El Clásico on a 1–1 tie at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On 23 April, Messi scored his 50th goal of the season against Osasuna in a 2–0 home victory which he came on as a substitute in the 60th minute.

In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals he gave a memorable performance, scoring twice against Real Madrid in a 2–0 win, the second goal (a dribble past several players) being acclaimed as one of the best ever at that stage of the competition. At the Champions League Final at Wembley, Messi scored the eventual game-clinching goal to give Barcelona their third title in six years and fourth overall.

2011–12 season

Messi started the season in the 2011 Spanish Supercup, scoring three goals and giving two assists for a 5–4 aggregate win against Real Madrid. On his next official match he scored again after a weak back pass from Fredy Guarín and gave an assist to Cesc Fàbregas for a 2-0 win against Porto at the UEFA Super Cup. This was the only official competition where he hadn't score before.

International career

In June 2004, he debuted for Argentina, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay. In 2005 he was part of a team that won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. There, he won the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe, scoring in the last four of Argentina's matches and netting a total of six for the tournament.

He made his full international debut on 17 August 2005 against Hungary at the age of 18. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off on the 65th minute because the referee, Markus Merk, found he had headbutted defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious and Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi returned to the team on 3 September in Argentina's 1–0 World Cup qualifier away defeat to Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-debut. The first one was a bit short." He then started his first game for Argentina against Peru; after the match Pekerman described Messi as "a jewel".

On 28 March 2009, in a World Cup Qualifier against Venezuela, Messi wore the number 10 jersey for the first time with Argentina. This match was the first official match for Diego Maradona as the Argentina manager. Argentina won the match 4–0 with Messi opening the scoring.

On 17 November 2010, Messi scored a last-minute goal against South American rivals Brazil after an individual effort to help his team to a 1–0 win in the friendly match, which was held in Doha. This was the first time that he had scored against Brazil at senior level. Messi scored another last-minute goal on 9 February 2011 against Portugal in a penalty kick which he give his side a 2–1 victory in the friendly match, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland.

2006 World Cup

The injury that kept Messi from playing for two months at the end of the 2005–06 season jeopardised his presence in the 2006 World Cup. Nevertheless, Messi was selected in the Argentina squad for the tournament on 15 May 2006. He also played in the final match before the World Cup against the Argentine U-20 team for 15 minutes and a friendly match against Angola from the 64th minute. He witnessed Argentina's opening match victory against Ivory Coast from the substitute's bench. In the next match against Serbia and Montenegro, Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in the 74th minute. He assisted Hernán Crespo's goal within minutes of entering the game and also scored the final goal in the 6–0 victory, making him the youngest scorer in the tournament and the sixth youngest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup. Messi started in Argentina's following 0–0 draw against the Netherlands. In the following game against Mexico, Messi came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, with the score tied at 1–1. He appeared to score a goal, but it was ruled offside with Argentina needing a late goal in extra time to proceed. Coach José Pekerman left Messi on the bench during the quarter-final match against Germany, which they lost 4–2 on a penalty shootout.

2007 Copa América

Messi played his first game in the 2007 Copa América on 29 June 2007, when Argentina defeated United States 4–1 in the first game. In this game, he showed his capabilities as a playmaker. He set up a goal for fellow striker Hernán Crespo and had numerous shots on target. Tevez came on as a substitute for Messi in the 79th minute and scored minutes later.

His second game was against Colombia, in which he won a penalty that Crespo converted to tie the game at 1–1. He also played a part in Argentina's second goal as he was fouled outside the box, which allowed Juan Roman Riquelme to score from a freekick, and increase Argentina's lead to 3–1. The final score of the game was 4–2 in Argentina's favor and guaranteed them a spot in the tournament's quarterfinals.

In the third game, against Paraguay the coach rested Messi having already qualified for the quarter-finals. He came off the bench in place of Esteban Cambiasso in the 64th minute, with the score at 0–0. In the 79th minute, he assisted a goal for Javier Mascherano. In the quarter-finals, as Argentina faced Peru, Messi scored the second goal of the game, from a Riquelme pass in a 4–0 win. During the semi-final match against Mexico, Messi scored a lob over Oswaldo Sánchez to see Argentina through to the final with a 3–0 win. Argentina went on to lose 3–0 to Brazil in the final.

2008 Summer Olympics

Having barred Messi from playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics, Barcelona agreed to release him after he held talks with newly appointed coach Josep Guardiola. He joined the Argentina squad and scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over Ivory Coast. He then scored the opening goal and assisted Ángel di María in the second to help his side to a 2–1 extra-time win against the Netherlands. He also featured in Argentina's match against rivals Brazil, in which Argentina took a 3–0 victory, thus advancing to the final. In the gold medal match, Messi again assisted Di María for the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Nigeria.

2010 World Cup

Messi played the entire game on Argentina's opening match in the 2010 World Cup, the 1–0 victory against Nigeria. He had several opportunities to score but was repeatedly denied by Vincent Enyeama. Messi started in Argentina's following 4–1 win against Korea Republic; he participated in all of the goals of his team and helped Gonzalo Higuaín score a hat-trick. On the third and last group stage match Messi captained during Argentina's 2–0 win over Greece, again being the centrepoint of Argentina's play and was voted man of the match.

At the Round of 16 he assisted Carlos Tévez for the first goal in a 3–1 win against Mexico. The referee awarded that goal even though it was a clear offside. The World Cup ended for Argentina with a 4–0 loss against Germany in the quarter-finals.

2011 Copa América

Messi took part in the Copa América in Argentina, where he failed to score a goal but notched three assists. He was selected man-of-the-match in matches against Bolivia (1–1) and Costa Rica (3–0). Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals in a penalty shoot-out against Uruguay (1–1 a.e.t.), with Messi scoring as the first penalty taker.

Outside football

Personal life

Messi was at one stage romantically linked to Macarena Lemos, also from his hometown of Rosario. He is said to have been introduced to her by the girl's father when he returned to Rosario to recover from his injury a few days before the start of the 2006 World Cup. He has in the past also been linked to the Argentine glamour model Luciana Salazar. In January 2009 he told "Hat Trick Barça", a programme on Canal 33: "I have a girlfriend and she is living in Argentina. I am relaxed and happy". He was seen with the girl, Antonella Roccuzzo, at a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. Roccuzzo is a fellow native of Rosario.

Messi has two cousins also involved in football: Maxi, a winger for Club Olimpia of Paraguay, and Emanuel Biancucchi, who plays as a midfielder for Spain's Girona FC.

Charity

In 2007 Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children. In an fansite interview, Messi said: “Being a bit famous now gives me the opportunity to help people who really need it, especially children." In response to Messi’s own childhood medical difficulties, the Leo Messi Foundation supports Argentine children diagnosed with medical conditions by offering treatment in Spain and covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs. Messi’s foundation is supported by his own fundraising activity with additional assistance from Herbalife.

On 11 March 2010 Messi was announced as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Messi’s UNICEF ambassador activities are aimed at supporting children’s rights. Messi is supported in this by FC Barcelona, who also have a strong association with UNICEF.

Media

He is featured on the front covers of the video games ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2009'' and ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2011'' and is also involved in promotional campaigns for the games. Messi, along with Fernando Torres, is the face of ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2010'', and was also involved in the motion capturing and the trailer. Messi is sponsored by the German sportswear company Adidas and features in their television advertisements. In June 2010, Messi also signed a three–year contract with Herbalife which further supports the Leo Messi Foundation.

Career statistics

Club

1 6 14 10 23 34 31 2

Club	Season	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	UEFA Super Cup	!colspan="3"	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan="8"	Barcelona		7	|	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	—			—			—			9	1	0
2005–06 FC Barcelona season	2005–06	17	|	3	2	1	0	6	1	1	0	0	0	—			—			25	8	4
2006–07 FC Barcelona season	2006–07	26	|	2	2	2	1	5	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	36	17	3
2007–08 FC Barcelona season	2007–08	28	|	12	3	0	0	9	6	1	—			—			—			40	16	13
2008–09 FC Barcelona season	2008–09	31	|	11	8	6	2	12	9	5	—			—			—			51	38	18
2009–10 FC Barcelona season	2009–10	35	|	10	3	1	0	11	8	0	1	2	0	1	0	1	2	2	0	53	47	11
2010–11 FC Barcelona season	2010–11	33	|	18	7	7	3	13	12	3	2	3	0	—			—			55	53	24
2011–12 FC Barcelona season	2011–12	1	|	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	4	6	4
Career total	!178!!121!!57!!26!!17!!6!!57!!37!!10!!7!!8!!2!!3!!1!!2!!2!!2!!0!!273!!186!!77

International

5 8 10 9 10 10 8

!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists
rowspan=7	'''Argentina	2005	|	0	0
2006	|	2	2
2007	|	6	3
2008	|	2	1
2009	|	3	2
2010	|	2	2
2011	|	2	7
Total!!60!!17!!17

International goals

Under–20

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.'' 14 June 2005 22 June 2005 24 June 2005 28 June 2005 2 July 2005 2 July 2005

!Goal	!Date!!Venue!!Opponent!!Score!!Result!!Competition
1	|	De Grolsch Veste>Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands		1–0	2–0	2005 FIFA World Youth Championship>2005 World Youth Championship
2	|	Univé Stadion, Emmen, Netherlands>Emmen, Netherlands		1–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
3	|	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands		3–1	3–1	2005 World Youth Championship
4	|	Stadion Galgenwaard>Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands		1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
5	|	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands		1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
6	|	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	2–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship

Under–23

7 August 2008 16 August 2008

!Goal	!Date!!Venue!!Opponent!!Score!!Result!!Competition
1	|	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China		1–0	2–1	Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament>2008 Summer Olympics
2	|	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China		1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics

Senior team

1 March 2006 16 June 2006 5 June 2007 5 June 2007 8 July 2007 11 July 2007 16 October 2007 20 November 2007 align=left 4 June 2008 11 October 2008 11 February 2009 28 March 2009 14 November 2009 7 September 2010 17 November 2010 align=left 9 February 2011 align=left 20 June 2011 align=left

!Goal	!Date!!Venue!!Opponent!!Score!!Result!!Competition
1	|	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland		2–1	2–3	Exhibition game>Friendly
2	|	Veltins-Arena>WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany		6–0	6–0	2006 FIFA World Cup>2006 World Cup
3	|	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain		2–2	4–3	Friendly
4	|	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	4–2	4–3	Friendly
5	|	Estadio Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara>Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara, Barquisimeto, Venezuela		2–0	4–0	2007 Copa América
6	|	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela		2–0	3–0	2007 Copa América
7	|	Estadio José Pachencho Romero>José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela		2–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)>2010 World Cup qualification
8	|	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia ||	1–0	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
9	|	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States	Mexico	2–0	4–1	Friendly
10	|	Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti>Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina		1–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualification
11	|	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France		2–0	2–0	Friendly
12	|	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
13	|	Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain		1–1	1–2	Friendly
14	|	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Spain	1–0	4–1	Friendly
15	|	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Brazil ||	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16	|	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Portugal ||	2–1	2–1	Friendly
17	|	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Albania ||	2–0	4–0	Friendly

Awards and honours

Club

;Barcelona

La Liga: 5

:: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2008–09

Supercopa de España: 5

:: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Champions League: 3

:: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11

UEFA Super Cup: 2

:: 2009, 2011

FIFA Club World Cup: 1

:: 2009

Argentina

FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1

:: 2005

Olympic Gold Medal: 1

:: 2008

Individual

FIFA Ballon d'Or: 1

:: 2010

Ballon d'Or: 1

:: 2009

FIFA World Player of the Year: 1

:: 2009

FIFA Team of the Year: 3

:: 2008, 2009, 2010

U-21 European Footballer of the Year: 1

:: 2007

La Liga Player of the Year: 3

:: 2009, 2010, 2011

La Liga top goalscorer: 1

:: 2010

Copa del Rey top goalscorer: 1

:: 2011

La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 3

:: 2007, 2009, 2010

La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year: 4

:: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011

European Golden Shoe: 1

:: 2010

UEFA Champions League top goalscorer: 3

:: 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Best Player in Europe: 1

:: 2011

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1

:: 2009

UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year: 1

:: 2009

UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 1

:: 2011

UEFA Champions League Final Fans' Man of the Match: 2

:: 2009, 2011

UEFA Team of the Year: 3

:: 2008, 2009, 2010

Footballer of the Year of Argentina: 5

:: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2

:: 2009, 2010

FIFPro World Young Player of the Year: 3

:: 2006, 2007, 2008

FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year: 2

:: 2007, 2008

FIFPro World XI: 4

:: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 1

:: 2005

FIFA U-20 World Cup top goalscorer: 1

:: 2005

Copa América Young Player of the Tournament: 1

:: 2007

World Soccer Player of the Year: 1

:: 2009

World Soccer Young Player of the Year: 3

:: 2006, 2007, 2008

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 1

:: 2009

ESM Team of the Year: 5

:: 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Onze d'Or: 2

:: 2009, 2010

Bravo Award: 1

:: 2007

Tuttosport Golden Boy: 1

:: 2005

Marca Leyenda: 1

:: 2009

UEFA best goal of the year: 1

:: 2007

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

Profile at ESPN

FIFA World Cup profile

Official page at Facebook

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:People from Rosario, Santa Fe Category:Argentine people of Italian descent Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Argentine footballers Category:Association football forwards Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona Atlètic footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Pichichi Trophy winners Category:Argentina international footballers Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:2007 Copa América players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:2011 Copa América players Category:Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic footballers of Argentina Category:Olympic medalists in football Category:Olympic gold medalists for Argentina Category:UNICEF people Category:Argentine expatriate footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain

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