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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″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

ar:ليونيل ميسي ast:Lionel Andrés Messi az:Lionel Messi bn:লিওনেল মেসি be:Ліанель Месі be-x-old:Ліянэль Мэсі bs:Lionel Messi br:Lionel Messi bg:Лионел Меси ca:Lionel Andrés Messi cv:Месси Лионель cs:Lionel Messi da:Lionel Messi de:Lionel Messi et:Lionel Messi el:Λιονέλ Μέσι es:Lionel Messi eo:Lionel Messi eu:Lionel Messi fa:لیونل مسی fr:Lionel Messi ga:Lionel Messi gl:Lionel Messi ko:리오넬 메시 hy:Լիոնել Մեսսի hi:लियोनेल मेस्सी hr:Lionel Messi id:Lionel Messi is:Lionel Messi it:Lionel Messi he:ליאונל מסי jv:Lionel Messi kn:ಲಿಯೊನೆಲ್‌ ಮೆಸ್ಸಿ ka:ლიონელ მესი kk:Лионель Месси sw:Lionel Messi la:Leonillus Messi lv:Lionels Mesi lt:Lionel Messi hu:Lionel Messi mk:Лионел Меси ml:ലേണൽ മെസി mr:लायोनेल मेस्सी ms:Lionel Messi mn:Лионель Месси my:လီယွန်နယ် မက်ဆီ nah:Lionel Messi nl:Lionel Messi ne:लियोनेल मेस्सी ja:リオネル・メッシ no:Lionel Messi nn:Lionel Messi oc:Lionel Messi mhr:Месси, Лионель uz:Lionel Messi pl:Lionel Messi pt:Lionel Messi ro:Lionel Messi ru:Месси, Лионель sq:Lionel Messi scn:Lionel Messi simple:Lionel Messi sk:Lionel Messi sl:Lionel Messi szl:Lionel Messi ckb:لیۆنێل مێسی sr:Лионел Меси sh:Lionel Messi fi:Lionel Messi sv:Lionel Messi ta:லியோனல் மெஸ்ஸி th:เลียวเนล เมสซี tr:Lionel Messi uk:Ліонель Мессі vi:Lionel Messi zh-yue:美斯 zh:利昂内尔·梅西

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
playername	Sergio Ramos
fullname	Sergio Ramos García
dateofbirth	March 30, 1986
cityofbirth	Camas
countryofbirth	Spain
height
currentclub	Real Madrid
clubnumber	4
position	Defender
youthyears1	1996–2003 | youthclubs1 Sevilla
years1	2003–2004 | clubs1 Sevilla B | caps1 26 | goals1 2
years2	2004–2005 | clubs2 Sevilla | caps2 39 | goals2 2
years3	2005– | clubs3 Real Madrid | caps3 196 | goals3 25
nationalyears1	2002 | nationalteam1 Spain U17 | nationalcaps1 1 | nationalgoals1 0
nationalyears2	2004 | nationalteam2 Spain U19 | nationalcaps2 6 | nationalgoals2 0
nationalyears3	2004 | nationalteam3 Spain U21 |nationalcaps3 6 | nationalgoals3 0
nationalyears4	2005– | nationalteam4 Spain | nationalcaps4 76 | nationalgoals4 5
pcupdate	18:20, 28 August 2011 (UTC)
ntupdate	4 June 2011 }}

Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Real Madrid and Spain.

Mainly a right back, he can perform equally as a central defender. After emerging through Sevilla's youth system, he went on to be a defensive mainstay for both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, gaining his first cap at the age of 18.

Club career

Sevilla

Born in Camas, Seville, Andalusia, Ramos began his career at local side Sevilla FC, emerging through the club's youth system alongside Jesús Navas and Antonio Puerta. He made his first team - and La Liga - debut on 1 February 2004, coming on as a second half substitute in a 0–1 loss at Deportivo de La Coruña.

In the 2004–05 season, Ramos appeared in 31 games as Sevilla finished sixth and qualified to the UEFA Cup, netting in home fixtures against Real Sociedad (2–1) and Real Madrid (2–2).

Real Madrid

In the summer of 2005, 19-year old Ramos was purchased by Real Madrid for €27 million, a record for a Spanish teenager. He was the only Spanish player brought in during Florentino Pérez first stint as Real Madrid president.

At the club, Ramos was awarded the number 4 shirt, previously worn by Fernando Hierro. On 6 December 2005, he scored his first goal for the ''Merengues'', in a 2–3 UEFA Champions League group stage loss at Olympiacos FC.

During his first seasons, Ramos played as centre back, being also used as an emergency defensive midfielder on occasion. However, with the arrival of Christoph Metzelder and Pepe in the 2007–08 season, he was again relocated to right back, whilst displaying a goalscoring instinct unusual to many defenders, netting more than 20 overall goals in Real Madrid's shirt during his first four seasons combined. On 4 May 2008, Ramos assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against CA Osasuna in an eventual 2–1 away win, the match that sealed Real Madrid's 31st league championship. On the final day of the season, he scored twice in a 5–2 home win against already relegated Levante UD, one through a header and another after an individual effort, taking his league tally to five.

Ramos scored a vital goal in the Spanish Supercup contest against Valencia CF, making it 2–1 to and 4–4 on aggregate, in an eventual 4–2 win (6–5), despite the fact Real Madrid playing with only nine men for a long period of time. Although he experienced a slight dip in form, he returned to his best and on 11 January 2009, scored on an acrobatic volley against RCD Mallorca (3–0 away triumph), continuing his scoring run in the following week, in a 3–1 home win against Osasuna.

Ramos was named in both FIFA and UEFA's 2008 ''Team of the Year'', adding the FIFPro Team of the Year 2007–08 accolade. He also finished 21st in the European Player of the Year nomination for 2008.

Just at the start of the 2009–10 season, Ramos was appointed as one of Real Madrid's four captains of Real Madrid. As Pepe suffered a serious knee injury during the campaign, he was often deployed as central defender, and scored four goals in 33 league contests, but the team eventually came out empty in silverware. On 21 February 2010, he played his 200th official match for the capital team against Villarreal CF (150 in the first division).

In Real Madrid's 5-0 loss to FC Barcelona on 29 November 2010, Ramos was sent off after kicking Lionel Messi from behind, then pushing Carles Puyol in the ensuing melée. After this ejection, he equalled Fernando Hierro's previous record for red cards at the club, having played in 264 fewer games.

On 20 April 2011, Ramos started in the season's Copa del Rey final, a 1–0 win against Barcelona in Valencia. In the subsequent victory procession, while celebrating on the top of the club's bus, he accidentally lost hold of the cup, which fell under the wheels of the vehicle. The trophy was eventually dented.

On 12 July 2011, Ramos extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2017.

International career

In 2004, Ramos became an instant hit for Spain's under-21, for whom he played six international matches. On 26 March 2005, in a 3–0 friendly win over China, in Salamanca, he first appeared for the senior side at only 18 years and 361 days of age, making him the youngest player to play for the national team in the last 55 years (he held this record until it was broken by Barcelona's Cesc Fàbregas).

Just seven months later, Ramos scored his first two international goals in a 6–0 away thrashing of San Marino for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He was selected for the final stages in Germany and, after the international retirement of Real Madrid teammate Míchel Salgado, became the undisputed first-choice right back.

Throughout Spain's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, Ramos was a regular member of the starting eleven as the national side finished first in its group, above Sweden. He scored two goals, including one in a 3–1 away win over Denmark, in 11 appearances.

In the tournament's final stages, Ramos played in all matches and minutes, except the 2–1 group stage win against Greece. In the final, his pass nearly set up Marcos Senna's first international goal, but the latter barely missed it by inches. During the celebrations after the 1–0 defeat of Germany, Ramos wore a T-shirt in honor of close friend and former Sevilla teammate Puerta, who died in August 2007.

Ramos was selected in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, as Spain finished in third position. At the 2010 World Cup, held in the same country, he started every game, helping the team keep five clean sheets and reach the final, which they won 1–0 against Holland. Ramos topped the tournament's Castrol Performance Index with a score of 9.79.

International goals

|- | 1. || October 13, 2005 || Stadio Olimpico, San Marino, San Marino || || 0–3 || 0–6 || 2006 World Cup qualification |- | 2. || October 13, 2005 || Stadio Olimpico, San Marino, San Marino || || 0–4 || 0–6 || 2006 World Cup qualification |- | 3. || October 13, 2007 || Atletion, Aarhus, Denmark || || 0–2 || 1–3 || Euro 2008 qualifying |- | 4. || November 17, 2007 || Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain || || 3–0 || 3–0 || Euro 2008 qualifying |- | 5. || March 3, 2010 || Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France || || 0–2 || 0–2 || Friendly |}

Statistics

Club

''''

0 2 0 0 5 5 4 4 3 0

Club	Season	League	Cup	Europe	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists
rowspan="4" valign="center"	Sevilla		7	|	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
2004–05 La Liga	2004–05	31	|	0	5	0	0	5	1	0	41	3	0
2005–06 La Liga	2005–06	1	|	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
!Total	39 !!2 !! 0 !!5 !! 0 !! 0 !! 5 !! 1 !! 0 !! 49 !! 3 !! 0
rowspan="8" valign="center"	Real Madrid		33	4	|	6	1	0	7	1	0	46	6	0
2006–07 La Liga	2006–07	33	|	2	3	0	0	6	1	0	42	6	2
2007–08 La Liga	2007–08	33	|	4	5	1	0	7	0	1	45	6	5
2008–09 La Liga	2008–09	32	|	3	2	1	0	8	1	0	42	6	3
2009–10 La Liga	2009–10	33	|	5	0	0	0	7	0	0	40	4	5
2010–11 La Liga	2010–11	31	|	2	7	1	1	8	0	0	46	4	3
2011–12 La Liga	2011–12	1	|	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1
!Total	! 196 !! 25 !! 17 !! 25 !! 4 !! 1 !! 43 !! 3 !! 1 !! 264 !! 32 !! 19
Career Total	! 235 !! 27 !! 17 !! 30 !! 4 !! 1 !! 48 !! 4 !! 1 !! 313 !! 35 !! 19

Honours

Club

;Real Madrid

La Liga: 2006–07, 2007–08

Copa del Rey: 2010–11

Supercopa de España: 2008; Runner-up 2011

Country

;Spain U–19

UEFA U-19 Championship: 2004

;Spain

FIFA World Cup: 2010

UEFA European Championship: 2008

FIFA Confederations Cup: Third-place 2009

Individual

UEFA's Best new player of 2004–05

UEFA's 2005–06 All-World Defensive Player of the Year

La Liga: Don Balón Award - Breakthrough Player of the Year 2005

ESM Team of the year: 2007–08

FIFPro: World XI 2007–08

UEFA: Team of the Year 2008 FIFA.com: Team of the Year 2008 Antonio Puerta Award Móstoles Sports Elite Award 2010 FIFA World Cup: Castrol Index Winner

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2010

References

External links

Real Madrid official profile

BDFutbol profile

National team data

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

Official website

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:Spanish footballers Category:People from Seville (province) Category:Association football defenders Category:La Liga footballers Category:Sevilla FC footballers Category:Real Madrid C.F. players Category:Spain youth international footballers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA European Football Championship-winning players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players

ar:سيرجيو راموس ast:Sergio Ramos bg:Серхио Рамос ca:Sergio Ramos García cs:Sergio Ramos da:Sergio Ramos de:Sergio Ramos et:Sergio Ramos es:Sergio Ramos eo:Sergio Ramos fa:سرخیو راموس fr:Sergio Ramos Garcia ga:Sergio Ramos gl:Sergio Ramos García ko:세르히오 라모스 hy:Սերխիո Ռամոս hr:Sergio Ramos id:Sergio Ramos it:Sergio Ramos he:סרחיו ראמוס ka:სერხიო რამოს გარსია ku:Sergio Ramos la:Sergius Ramos lv:Serhio Ramoss lt:Sergio Ramos García hu:Sergio Ramos mr:सेर्गियो रामोस nl:Sergio Ramos ja:セルヒオ・ラモス no:Sergio Ramos nn:Sergio Ramos pl:Sergio Ramos pt:Sergio Ramos ro:Sergio Ramos ru:Рамос, Серхио sq:Sergio Ramos simple:Sergio Ramos sk:Sergio Ramos sr:Серхио Рамос fi:Sergio Ramos sv:Sergio Ramos th:เซร์คีโอ ราโมส tr:Sergio Ramos uk:Серхіо Рамос vi:Sergio Ramos zh:塞尔希奥·拉莫斯

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Pim Balkestein
fullname	Pim Balkestein
height
birth date	April 29, 1987
birth place	Gouda, Netherlands
currentclub	Rochdale(on loan from Brentford)
clubnumber	12
position	Defender
years1	2005–2008
years2	2008–2010
years3	2009
years4	2010
years5	2010–
years6	2011
clubs1	SC Heerenveen
clubs2	Ipswich Town
clubs3	→ Brentford (loan)
clubs4	→ Brentford (loan)
clubs5	Brentford
clubs6	→ Rochdale (loan)
caps1	0
goals1	0
caps2	29
goals2	0
caps3	8
goals3	0
caps4	6
goals4	1
caps5	20
goals5	1
caps6	1
goals6	0
nationalcaps1	| nationalgoals1
pcupdate	13.10, 17 April 2011(UTC)
ntupdate	}}

Pim Balkestein (born 29 April 1987) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Brentford. He plays as a central-defender and can also play at left-back. He is the son of ex-footballer Luuk Balkestein.

Club career

Heerenveen

Balkestein came through the ranks at Dutch football club, SC Heerenveen. He never made a first team appearance for the club, but during his time there, he was once named on stand-by for the Dutch Under-21's team.

Ipswich Town

Balkestein joined Ipswich on trial at the end of the 2007–08 season after impressing the Ipswich manager at the time, Jim Magilton. Whist on trial, Balkestein appeared in a friendly match against Tottenham Hotspur. On 16 June 2008 Balkestein signed a two year contract with the option of a third year, a fee of £180,000 was paid to former club SC Heerenveen as compensation. He made his debut versus Preston North End on 9 August 2008.

On 21 April 2009, Balkestein was named Ipswich Town's "Most Improved Player of the Year", an award voted for by club's coaching staff.

Brentford

In the 2009-10 season he spent two spells on loan at Brentford. It was in the second of these spells that he scored his first goal in English football in a 3-2 win over Oldham Athletic.

On 6 August 2010 Balkestein signed for Brentford on a permanent basis.

Rochdale

On August 19th 2011 Balkenstein joined League One rivals Rochdale on loan until 18 January 2012, with a view to a permanent move.

References

External links

Pim Balkestein player profile at itfc.co.uk

Pim Balkestein biography at playerhistory.com

Pim Balkestein biography at goal.com

Pim Balkestein named 'Most Improved Player of the Year'

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:Dutch footballers Category:SC Heerenveen players Category:Ipswich Town F.C. players Category:Brentford F.C. players Category:Rochdale A.F.C. players Category:The Football League players Category:People from Gouda

es:Pim Balkestein nl:Pim Balkestein

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
playername	Ronaldo
fullname	Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima
height
dateofbirth	September 18, 1976
cityofbirth	Rio de Janeiro
countryofbirth	Brazil
position	Striker
youthyears1	1986–1989 |youthclubs1 Tennis Club Valqueire
youthyears2	1989–1990 |youthclubs2 Social Ramos Club
youthyears3	1990–1993 |youthclubs3 São Cristóvão
years1	1993–1994 |clubs1 Cruzeiro |caps1 14 |goals1 12
years2	1994–1996 |clubs2 PSV |caps2 46 |goals2 42
years3	1996–1997 |clubs3 Barcelona |caps3 37 |goals3 34
years4	1997–2002 |clubs4 Inter Milan |caps4 68 |goals4 49
years5	2002–2006 |clubs5 Real Madrid |caps5 127 |goals5 83
years6	2007–2008 |clubs6 AC Milan |caps6 20 |goals6 9
years7	2009–2011 |clubs7 Corinthians |caps7 31 |goals7 18
totalcaps	343
totalgoals	247
nationalyears1	1994–2011 |nationalteam1 Brazil |nationalcaps1 98 |nationalgoals1 62
medaltemplates	}}

}}

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (; born 18 September 1976), commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo was one of the most prolific scorers in the world in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. He won his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 (aged only 21) and again won the award in 2002 (26 years old). Additionally, he is one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinedine Zidane.

In 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decade" in an online poll, gathering 43.63 percent of all votes and was also included as centre forward in the "Team of the Decade." On 23 February 2010, Ronaldo announced that he will retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with the Corinthians at the same time. He is widely considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest players of all time.

Ronaldo has played for Brazil in 97 international matches, amassing 62 goals. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14.

Ronaldo retired on 14 February 2011, citing pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.

Club career

1993: Cruzeiro

In 1993, Ronaldo began his football career playing for Cruzeiro which was already going on to become a successful club. In his first and only year with Cruzeiro, he amassed 12 goals in 14 appearances and led them to their first Copa do Brasil championship. Prior to this, he was turned down by his boyhood favourite team Flamengo, but Brazilian World Cup legend Jairzinho saw Ronaldo's potential and helped get him the move to Cruzeiro.

1994–1996: PSV Eindhoven

Ronaldo chose to join PSV after the 1994 World Cup, for he was selected despite being just 17, but did not play. It was Romário who advised Ronaldo to start his European career at PSV; Romário being a former striker of the team from 1988–1993. Ronaldo scored 30 league goals in his first season in Holland. His second season was marred by a knee injury which kept him out of most of the campaign, but he still averaged nearly a goal a game in the league, with 12 in his 13 appearances. With PSV, Ronaldo won the Dutch Cup in 1996 and he was Eredivisie top scorer in 1995.

1996–1997: Barcelona

During his spell at PSV, Ronaldo attracted the attention of notably Inter Milan and FC Barcelona. It was Barcelona that was willing to pay the then record fee of $17 million. During the 1996–97 season Ronaldo scored an incredible 47 goals in 49 games (in all competitions) for Barça, leading the Catalan side to UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph (where he capped the season with the winning goal in the cup final itself) and to Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España wins. He also won La Liga top scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 games. Until the 2008–09 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to score more than 30 goals in La Liga. At the age of 20, Ronaldo became the youngest player to win FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996. He also finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or.

1997–2002: Inter Milan

Ronaldo's time at Barça was brief, as there were problems with the renegotiation of Ronaldo's contract. Ronaldo's unhappiness became evident and at the end of the season, by paying the buy out clause fee in his contract, Inter Milan signed him the following year for a then world record fee of £19 million. Ronaldo duly helped them repeat his former side's cup-winning run, this time in the UEFA Cup, in which he scored their third goal in the final itself. Ronaldo adapted to the Italian style of the game in his first season, finishing second on the league's scoring charts. Ronaldo started to develop into a complete forward. He began racking up assists, became first-choice penalty taker, taking and scoring freekicks, and captaining the team at the end of the season. During his time with Inter, he scored several goals against A.C. Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. He won FIFA World Player of the Year for the second time in 1997, and collected the Ballon d'Or the same year. The following year, after the FIFA World Cup, he finished second for FIFA player of the year, and third for European Footballer of the Year. At this point in his career, he was clearly and widely regarded as the best player in the world.

On 21 November 1999, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the pitch. Medical exams after the match confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery. During his first comeback on 12 April 2000, he played only seven minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Lazio before injuring his knee for a second time. After two operations and months of rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in 2002, he won the World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid. Ronaldo was given his most recognizable nickname, , by the Italian press while playing there. He was named the 20th top footballer of all time for Inter, according to Times Online, and only his injuries prevented a higher ranking. He played 99 games and scored 59 goals for ''Nerazzurri''.

2002–2006: Real Madrid

Having signed for Real Madrid C.F. for €46 million, his jersey sales broke all records on the first day, such was the obsession and hype surrounding him. He was sidelined through injury until October 2002 but the fans kept on chanting his name. Ronaldo scored twice in his debut for Real Madrid. He received a standing ovation at the Stadium Bernabéu. That same reception was observed on the night of the final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo scored again to seal his first season with 23 league goals and the La Liga Championship title for 2003, which Ronaldo had previously failed to win while with FC Barcelona. With Madrid, he also won an Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and Spanish Super Cup in 2003. thumb|left|Ronaldo taking a shot for [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid, 2 March 2005]]In the second leg of Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Manchester United at Old Trafford, knocking the English team out of the competition. Madrid was on track to win the treble until Ronaldo was injured towards the end of the 2003–04 season; they subsequently lost the Copa del Rey final, were knocked out of the Champions league quarter-finals, and suffered a league form breakdown. That season, he finished as the league's top scorer with 24 goals and was awarded the Pichichi Trophy, despite Madrid losing the league title to Valencia CF. With the acquisition of Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2006, Ronaldo grew more and more out of favour with the manager Fabio Capello due to injuries and weight issues.

2007–2008: AC Milan

On 18 January 2007, it was reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with A.C. Milan for a transfer of €8.05 million. Ronaldo was forced to pay for the remaining period on his contract which tied him to Real Madrid, only because the latter did not agree to release him, while AC Milan were not ready to pay such a sum. On 25 January, Ronaldo flew from Madrid to AC Milan to watch AC Milan in a cup tie against Roma. Statements on the club's website said that Ronaldo was in AC Milan for a medical, and that a meeting had been arranged for Monday with Real Madrid officials to discuss and finalize his transfer to AC Milan. On 26 January, Ronaldo successfully completed his medical tests at the Milanello training complex under the supervision of club doctors, and the transfer completed on 30 January and got the squad number 99. He made his debut as a substitute on 11 February 2007, during the 2–1 victory over Livorno. The next game at Siena, on 17 February, Ronaldo scored twice and assisted on a third goal in his first start for AC Milan, as they won an exciting game 4–3. In his first season, Ronaldo scored seven goals in 14 appearances.

After his move to AC Milan, Ronaldo joined the list of the few players to have played for both Inter Milan and AC Milan in the Milan Derby, and is one of two players to have scored for both sides in the derby game (for Inter in the 98/99 season and for AC Milan in the 06/07 season), the other player being Zlatan Ibrahimović. Ronaldo is also one of the few players to have started for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which also boasts a heated rivalry. Ronaldo, however, has never transferred directly between rival clubs. Ronaldo only played 300-plus minutes in his single season at AC Milan due to recurring injury problems and weight issues. Ronaldo's only goals in the 2007–08 season, besides his goal against Lecce in pre-season, came in a 5–2 victory against Napoli at the San Siro, where he scored an emotional brace. It was also the first time AC Milan's much hyped attacking trio of Kaká, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo, known as ''Ka-Pa-Ro'', played together. In total, he scored nine goals in 20 appearances for AC Milan.

Despite tremendous success over the past decade, Ronaldo has never won the UEFA Champions League in his club career. During the 2006–07 season, though A.C. Milan won the 2006–07 title, Ronaldo was cup-tied with Madrid and ineligible to take part. The closest that he has been was in 2003 when he helped Real Madrid to the semi-finals, in which they lost to Juventus.

On 13 February 2008, Ronaldo suffered a severe season-ending knee injury while jumping for a cross in AC Milan's 1–1 draw with Livorno, and was stretchered off and taken to a hospital. The club confirmed after the match that Ronaldo had ruptured the kneecap ligament in his left knee. It marked the third such occurrence of this injury, which he suffered twice to his right knee in 1998 and 2000. He was released by AC Milan at the end of the season, as his contract expired and was not renewed.

2009–2011: Corinthians

Ronaldo trained with Flamengo during his recovery from knee surgery, and the club's board of directors said that the doors were open for him to join. On 9 December, however, Ronaldo signed a one-year deal with Flamengo's league rival Corinthians. The announcement received high publicity in the Brazilian press about his favouring Corinthians over Flamengo, since Ronaldo publicly declared himself a Flamengo lover and had promised to defend the club.

Ronaldo played his first match for Corinthians on 4 March 2009, a Copa do Brasil match against Itumbiara at Estádio Juscelino Kubitschek, in which he came as a substitute for Jorge Henrique. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on 8 March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista match against Palmeiras. He helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista with 10 goals in 14 games.

Ronaldo helped Corinthians defeat Internacional with an aggregate score of 4–2 to help the club win its third Brazil Cup (the second of his career), thus earning a spot in the Copa Libertadores 2010. He returned on 20 September in a match against Goiás. On 27 September 2009, he scored for Corinthians in the 1–1 draw against São Paulo FC. He finished the Brazilian Serie A 2009 with 12 goals in 20 matches. In February 2010, Ronaldo signed a contract extension with Corinthians that would keep him with the club until the end of 2011, and said he would then retire.

In February 2011, after Corinthians were eliminated from the 2011 Copa Libertadores by the Colombian team Deportes Tolima, Ronaldo announced his retirement from football. In a press conference on 14 February 2011, he admitted his body had finally succumbed to the crippling litany of injuries that have blighted his career. "It's very hard to leave something that made me so happy. Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body," he stated.

International career

Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil in 1994, in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina. He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States as a 17-year-old, but did not play. He came to be known as Ronaldinho ("little Ronaldo" in Portuguese), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older team-mate on the tournament, was also called Ronaldo and also nicknamed Ronaldão ("big Ronaldo") to further distinguish them. Another Brazilian player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, who is widely known as Ronaldinho, would come to be called Ronaldinho Gaúcho when he joined the Brazilian main national team in 1999.

In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ronaldo played with the name ''Ronaldinho'' on his shirt, since centreback Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Brazil went on to win the bronze medal in Atlanta.

1998 FIFA World Cup

Voted the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996 and 1997, he scored four goals and made three assists during the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The night before the final, he suffered a convulsive fit. At first, Ronaldo was removed from the starting lineup 72 minutes before the match, but he requested to play and was later reinstated by coach Mario Zagallo. Ronaldo did not perform well and he was injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Brazil lost the final to hosts France 3–0. Adrian Williams, professor of clinical neurology at Birmingham University, said that Ronaldo should not have played, saying that he would have been feeling the after effects of the seizure and that "there is no way that he would have been able to perform to the best of his ability within 24 hours of his first fit – if it was his first fit."

2002 FIFA World Cup

During the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo again led the national team to their record fifth championship and won the Golden Shoe as top scorer with eight goals and was runner-up to the Golden Ball as most valuable player in the tournament. He also scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England. In the final match against Germany, Ronaldo scored his 11th and 12th goals to a round of applause and tied Pelé's Brazilian record of 12 career World Cup goals.

2006 FIFA World Cup

On 2 June 2004, Ronaldo scored an unusual hat-trick of penalties for Brazil against arch-rivals Argentina in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match.

At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, respectively, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow. Nonetheless, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the starting lineup in face of calls to have Ronaldo replaced. With his two goals against Japan in the third match, he became the 20th player ever to score in three different FIFA World Cups and also equalled the all-time World Cup finals scoring record of 14, held by Gerd Müller (Ronaldo scored at France 98, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006). and then broke Müller's record in the Round of 16 match against Ghana by scoring his 15th World Cup goal. He also equalled a much less talked about mark: with his third goal of the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo became only the second player ever, after Jürgen Klinsmann, to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups. Brazil, however, were knocked out by France 1–0 in the quarter-finals.

Ronaldo and Klinsmann's record of at least three goals in each of three World Cup finals has now been both equalled and bettered by the German Miroslav Klose, who now has a record of at least four goals in each of three tournaments, having netted five at both the 2002 and 2006 finals, and four at the 2010 tournament.

Farewell match

In February 2011 it was announced that Ronaldo will be given one very last match for Brazil, five years after his last match with the national team, a friendly against Romania was held in São Paulo on 7 June 2011. Despite it being almost unheard of in international football for players to be given farewell matches for their national side, CBF officials have stated that given the extraordinary career of Ronaldo, it is only fitting that his last hurrah should take place in Brazil while representing his nation. He played for 15 minutes in a match that ended with a Brazilian victory with a single goal from Fred at the 21st minute.

World Cup goals

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France 27 June 1998 27 June 1998 7 July 1998 3 June 2002 8 June 2002 13 June 2002 13 June 2002 17 June 2002 26 June 2002 30 June 2002 30 June 2002 22 June 2006 22 June 2006 27 June 2006

# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! World Cup !! Round
1.	16 June 1998	|		1 – 0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup>1998	1998 FIFA World Cup Group A>Group stage
2.	|	Parc des Princes, Paris, France		3 – 0	4–1	1998 FIFA World Cup>1998	1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage>Round of 16
3.	|	Parc des Princes, Paris, France		4 – 1	4–1	1998 FIFA World Cup>1998	1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage>Round of 16
4.	|	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France		1 – 0	1–1	1998 FIFA World Cup>1998	1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage>Semi-final
5.	|	Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan, Korea Republic		1 – 1	2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup Group C>Group stage
6.	|	Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo, Korea Republic		4 – 0	4–0	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup Group C>Group stage
7.	|	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, Korea Republic		0 – 1	2–5	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup Group C>Group stage
8.	|	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, Korea Republic		0 – 2	2–5	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup Group C>Group stage
9.	|	Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe, Japan		2 – 0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage>Round of 16
10.	|	Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Saitama>Saitama, Japan		1 – 0	1–0	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage>Semi-final
11.	|	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan		0 – 1	0–2	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup Final>Final
12.	|	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan		0 – 2	0–2	2002 FIFA World Cup>2002	2002 FIFA World Cup Final>Final
13.	|	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany		1 – 1	1–4	2006 FIFA World Cup>2006	2006 FIFA World Cup Group F>Group stage
14.	|	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany		1 – 4	1–4	2006 FIFA World Cup>2006	2006 FIFA World Cup Group F>Group stage
15.	|	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany		1 – 0	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup>2006	2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage>Round of 16

Career statistics

Club

rowspan=2 12 0 14 rowspan="2" 30 13 !colspan="3" 34 !colspan="3" rowspan="5" 25 19 7 0 10 !colspan="3" rowspan="5" 23 32 34 23 7 !colspan="3" rowspan="2" 7 6 !colspan="3" rowspan="3" 12 3 11 3 31 !colspan="3"

Season	Club	League	League	RegionalLeague	Cups	Continental	Other	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 1993	1993	Cruzeiro||rowspan=2|Série A		14	|	2
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 1994	1994
Total	|	12	20	22	-	-	12	10	1	0	47	44
Eredivisie 1994-95	1994–95	PSV||rowspan="2"|Eredivisie		33
Eredivisie 1995-96	1995–96		|12|
Total ||	46	42	-	-	4	3	7	9	-	-	57	54
La Liga 1996-97	1996–97	FC Barcelona>Barcelona		37
Total ||	37	34	-	-	4	6	7	5	1	2	49	47
Serie A 1997-98	1997–98	Inter Milan||rowspan="5"|Serie A		32
Serie A 1998-99	1998–99		|14|
Serie A 1999-00	1999–00		|3|
Serie A 2000-01	2000–01		|0|
Serie A 2001-02	2001–02		|7|
Total ||	68	49	-	-	8	3	22	7	1	0	99	59
La Liga 2002-03	2002–03	Real Madrid||rowspan="5"|La Liga		31
La Liga 2003-04	2003–04		|24|
La Liga 2004-05	2004–05		|21|
La Liga 2005-06	2005–06		|14|
La Liga 2006-07	2006–07		|1|
Total ||	127	83	-	-	11	4	36	15	3	2	177	104
Serie A 2006-07	2006–07	AC Milan||rowspan="2"|Serie A		14
Serie A 2007-08	2007–08		|2|
Total ||	20	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	9
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2009	2009	Corinthians||rowspan="3"|Série A		20	|	10	8	8
2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A	2010		|	6	9
2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A	2011
Total	|	18	21	11	8	3	9	3	-	-	69	35
Career totals ||	343	247	41	33	35	19	93	49	6	4	518	352

Other - Recopa Sudamericana, Supercopa de España, Intercontinental Cup, & UEFA Cup Play-Off (at Coppa Italia)

List of Goals for Barcelona (47)

25/08/96 25/08/96 12/09/96 12/09/96 15/09/96 22/09/96 22/09/96 29/09/96 29/09/96 12/10/96 12/10/96 20/10/96 20/10/96 26/10/96 26/10/96 26/10/96 18/11/96 13/01/97 19/01/97 26/01/97 26/01/97 30/01/97 02/02/97 23/02/97 23/02/97 23/02/97 06/03/97 09/03/97 12/03/97 12/03/97 12/03/97 20/03/97 23/03/97 26/03/97 26/03/97 30/03/97 06/04/97 13/04/97 13/04/97 13/04/97 16/04/97 20/04/97 05/05/97 10/05/97 14/05/97 19/05/97 24/05/97

+
scope="col"	No.	Opponent	H/A	Date	Comp.	Round	Score	Result
1	Atlético Madrid	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996 Supercopa de España>Supercopa	Final	1-0	5-2
scope="row'>2	Atlético Madrid	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996 Supercopa de España>Supercopa	Final	5-2	5-2
scope="row'	3	AEK Larnaca	Camp Nou>Home	|	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1996-97>UEFA CWC	1st	1-0	2-0
scope="row'	4	AEK Larnaca	Camp Nou>Home	|	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1996-97>UEFA CWC	1st	2-0	2-0
scope="row'	5	Racing Santander	El Sardinero>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 3	0-1	1-1
scope="row'	6	Real Sociedad	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 4	1-0	3-2
scope="row'	7	Real Sociedad	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 4	2-2	3-2
scope="row'	8	Real Zaragoza	La Romareda>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 5	3-2	3-5
scope="row'	9	Real Zaragoza	La Romareda>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 5	3-5	3-5
scope="row'	10	SD Compostela	Compostela	San Lázaro Stadium>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 7	1-3	1-5
scope="row'	11	SD Compostela	Compostela	San Lázaro Stadium>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 7	1-4	1-5
scope="row'	12	CD Logroñes	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 8	3-0	8-0
scope="row'	13	CD Logroñes	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 8	8-0	8-0
scope="row'	14	Valencia CF	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 10	1-0	3-2
scope="row'	15	Valencia CF	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 10	2-0	3-2
scope="row'	16	Valencia CF	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 10	3-2	3-2
scope="row'	17	Real Valladolid	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 13	2-0	6-1
scope="row'	18	Hércules CF	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 19	2-0	2-3
scope="row'	19	Real Betis	Benito Villamarin>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 20	2-3	2-4
scope="row'	20	Rayo Vallecano	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 21	4-0	6-0
scope="row'	21	Rayo Vallecano	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 21	5-0	6-0
scope="row'	22	Real Madrid	Camp Nou>Home	|	Copa del Rey 1996–97>Copa del Rey	R16	1-0	3-2
scope="row'	23	Real Oviedo	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 22	2-0	2-2
scope="row'	24	Real Zaragoza	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 26	2-0	4-1
scope="row'	25	Real Zaragoza	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 26	3-0	4-1
scope="row'	26	Real Zaragoza	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 26	4-0	4-1
scope="row'	27	AIK Solna	Camp Nou>Home	|	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1996-97>UEFA CWC	Q-F	2-1	3-1
scope="row'	28	SD Compostela	Compostela	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 28	3-0	3-0
scope="row'	29	Atlético Madrid	Camp Nou>Home	|	Copa del Rey 1996–97>Copa del Rey	Q-F	1-3	5-4
scope="row'	30	Atlético Madrid	Camp Nou>Home	|	Copa del Rey 1996–97>Copa del Rey	Q-F	2-3	5-4
scope="row'	31	Atlético Madrid	Camp Nou>Home	|	Copa del Rey 1996–97>Copa del Rey	Q-F	4-4	5-4
scope="row'	32	AIK Solna	Råsunda Stadium>Away	|	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1996-97>UEFA CWC	Q-F	0-1	1-1
scope="row'	33	Sevilla FC	Sevilla	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 30	2-0	4-0
scope="row'	34	UD Las Palmas	Las Palmas	Estadio de Gran Canaria>Away	|	Copa del Rey 1996–97>Copa del Rey	S-F	0-1	0-4
scope="row'	35	UD Las Palmas	Las Palmas	Estadio de Gran Canaria>Away	|	Copa del Rey 1996–97>Copa del Rey	S-F	0-4	0-4
scope="row'	36	Valencia CF	Mestalla>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 31	1-1	1-1
scope="row'	37	Sporting Gijon	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 32	3-0	4-0
scope="row'	38	Atlético Madrid	Vicente Calderón Stadium>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 33	1-2	2-5
scope="row'	39	Atlético Madrid	Vicente Calderón Stadium>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 33	1-3	2-5
scope="row'	40	Atlético Madrid	Vicente Calderón Stadium>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 33	2-4	2-5
scope="row'	41	Real Valladolid	Estadio José Zorrilla>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 34	0-1	3-1
scope="row'	42	Athletic Bilbao	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 35	2-0	2-0
scope="row'	43	Extremadura CF	Extremadura	Estadio Francisco de la Hera>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 36	0-1	1-3
scope="row'	44	Real Madrid	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 37	1-0	1-0
scope="row'	45	Paris St. Germain	De Kuip>Feijenoord	|	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1996-97>UEFA CWC	Final	1-0	1-0
scope="row'	46	Celta Vigo	Balaídos>Away	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 38	1-3	1-3
scope="row'	47	Deportivo La Coruña	Camp Nou>Home	|	1996-97 La Liga>La Liga	Week 39	1-0	1-0

International

!Total

1994	4
1995	6
1996	4
1997	20
1998	10
1999	10
2000	0
2001	0
2002	12
2003	8
2004	11
2005	5
2006	7
2007	0
2008	0
2009	0
2010	0
2011	1
|	98	62

Career Totals

Professional career totals
! Teams	! Appearances	! Goals	! Goals per game
Clubs	518	352	0.679
	98	62	0.632
	8	6	0.750
Total	624	420	0.673

Honours

Cruzeiro

Campeonato Mineiro: 1994

Copa do Brasil: 1993

PSV

KNVB Cup: 1996

Johan Cruijff-schaal: 1996

Barcelona

Copa del Rey: 1997

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997

Supercopa de España: 1996

Inter Milan

UEFA Cup: 1998

Real Madrid

La Liga: 2002–03, 2006–07

Intercontinental Cup: 2002

Supercopa de España: 2003

Corinthians

Campeonato Paulista: 2009

Copa do Brasil: 2009

National team

FIFA World Cup: 1994, 2002

Copa América: 1997, 1999

FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997

Individual

Supercopa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1993–94

Campeonato Mineiro Top Scorer: 1993–94

Campeonato Mineiro Team of The Year: 1994

Eredivisie Top Scorer: 1994–95

La Liga Top Scorer: 1996–97,2003–2004

European Golden Boot: 1996–97

Don Balón Award La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1996–97

Copa América Final Most Valuable Player: 1997

Copa América Most Valuable Player: 1997

Confederations Cup All-Star Team: 1997

Cup Winners Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1997

Cup Winners Cup Top Goal Scorer: 1996–1997

IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year: 1997

UEFA Most Valuable Player: 1997–98

Serie A Footballer of the Year: 1997–98

Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1997–98

UEFA Best Forward: 1997–98

Bravo Award : 1995, 1997, 1998

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1998

UEFA Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1998

Copa América Top Scorer: 1999

Copa América All-Star Team: 1997, 1999

FIFA World Player of the Year: 1996, 1997, 2002

Ballon D'or: 1997, 2002

World Soccer Magazine World Player of The Year: 1996,1997.2002

Onze d'Or: 1997, 2002

FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 2002

FIFA 100

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2002

FIFA World Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 2002

FIFA World Cup Top Scorer: 2002

Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002

UEFA Team of The Year: 2002

Laureus Comeback of the Year: 2002

Strogaldo De Legendary Award 2002

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality: 2002

La Liga South American Player of the Year: 1996–97, 2002–03

Golden Foot award: 2006

Brazilian National Hall of Fame: Class of 2006

Serie A Player of the Decade: 1997–2007

France Football Magazine: Starting eleven of all-time (2007)

FIFA World Cup: All-Time Leading Scorer

Campeonato Paulista: Best Player, 2009

Goal.com: Player of a decade: Winner 2000–2010

Personal life

Ronaldo is the third child of Nélio Nazário de Lima, Snr and Sônia dos Santos Barata, Ronaldo has a brother Nélio Jr.

During 1997, Ronaldo met the Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner on the set of Brazilian telenovela ''Malhação'' when they acted together in three episodes. Although never marrying, they began a long-term relationship and lived together in Milan until the beginning of 1999. In April 1999, Ronaldo married female Brazilian footballer Milene Domingues, at the time pregnant with the couple's first son, Ronald. The marriage lasted four years. The couple had a son, Ronald (born in Milan, on April 6, 2000). In 2005, Ronaldo became engaged to Brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniela Cicarelli, who became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage; the relationship lasted for only three months after their luxurious wedding at the Château de Chantilly. The ceremony reportedly cost €700,000 (£896,000).

In April 2008, Ronaldo was involved in a scandal involving three transvestite prostitutes whom he met in a nightclub located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Upon discovering that they were men, Ronaldo offered them $600 to leave. One of the three, however, André Luís Ribeiro Albertini (better known as ''Andréia Albertini''), demanded $30,000 and exposed the case to the media. According to the local police chief, "[Ronaldo] was very excited and wanted to go out and have fun, without the press knowing. Ronaldo said that he is not mentally stable and is having psychological problems because of his recent surgery. But he committed no crime at all, it was immoral at best." Ronaldo's engagement to Maria Beatriz Antony was cancelled immediately after the prostitution scandal but resumed a little later. Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their first daughter, named Maria Sophia, in Rio de Janeiro, on 24 December 2008. In April 2009, the whole family moved to a new penthouse in São Paulo. On 6 April 2010, Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their second daughter. The girl, born in São Paulo, was named Maria Alice. Coincidently, Maria Alice was born exactly 10 years after her older brother Ronald. In December 2010, Ronaldo and his family moved to a new mansion in São Paulo. Also in December, Ronaldo performed a parental testing and confirmed to be the father of a boy named Alexander (born in April 2005). The boy was born after a brief relationship between Ronaldo and Michele Umezu, a Brazilian waitress whom Ronaldo first met in Tokyo, in 2002. After the confirmation of his fourth child, the striker declared that four is enough, causing him to "close the factory". So, on 26 December 2010, he revealed his recent vasectomy.

Since 2005, Ronaldo has been the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with Brazilian motorsports legend Emerson Fittipaldi.

References

External links

Top.10 players of Brasileiro 2009 Southamericanfutbol.com

ESPN Profile

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Category:1976 births Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players Category:1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:A1 Grand Prix people Category:A.C. Milan players Category:Association football forwards Category:Brazil international footballers Category:Brazilian expatriate footballers Category:Brazilian expatriates in Italy Category:Brazilian expatriates in Spain Category:Brazilian footballers Category:Brazilian people of Black African descent Category:Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Category:Eredivisie players Category:European Footballer of the Year winners Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain Category:Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:F.C. Internazionale Milano players Category:FIFA 100 Category:FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players Category:FIFA World Player of the Year winners Category:Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:La Liga footballers Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Living people Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Category:Olympic footballers of Brazil Category:People from Rio de Janeiro (state) Category:Pichichi Trophy winners Category:PSV Eindhoven players Category:Real Madrid C.F. players Category:Serie A footballers Category:Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Category:World Soccer Magazine World Player of the Year winners Category:Olympic medalists in football

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