messi lionel barcelona argentina sasquatch jonathan poodlechrist Beginnings Lionel Messi was born in Rosario city on June 24, 1987. At the age of five, he started playing football for Grandoli, a club coached by his father. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys.[5] At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.[6] River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for the treatment of the illness that cost over £500 a month. Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of Messi's talent, and Barcelona signed him after watching him play,[7] offering to pay for the medical bills if he was willing to move to start a new life in Spain.[5] His family moved with the young player to Europe and he starred in the club's youth teams.[7]. Messi is known for his speed with or without the ball, his astonishing dribbling and skills, going past defenders and his finishing. [edit] FC Barcelona Messi made his unofficial debut for the first team against FC Porto on November 16, 2003. Less than a year later he made his official debut against Espanyol on October 16, 2004, becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for FC Barcelona and youngest club player who played in La Liga (a record broken by team mate Bojan Krkic in September 2007).[8] When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on May 1, 2005, Messi was 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old, becoming the youngest to <b>...</b>