Juan

Personal information
Full name	Juan Silveira dos Santos
Date of birth	(1979-02-01) 1 February 1979 (age 33)
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Roma
Number	4
Youth career
1989–1996	Flamengo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–2002	Flamengo	75	(5)
2002–2007	Bayer Leverkusen	139	(10)
2007–	Roma	117	(9)
National team‡
1995–1996	Brazil U-17	6	(2)
1997–1999	Brazil U-20	5	(0)
2001–2010	Brazil	82	(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 July 2010

Juan Silveira dos Santos (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃ siɫˈvejɾɐ dus ˈsɐ̃tus]; born 1 February 1979 in Rio de Janeiro), commonly known as Juan is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a central defender for Italian side Roma.

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Juan played for six years for Flamengo in Brasil. In 2002, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen. He played five years in Germany scoring ten goals for Bayer. In 2007, he moved to Roma for €6.3 million.^[1]

Roma[link]

Juan is currently playing for Roma. In all competitions for Roma he scored 11 goals in more than 140 appearances. With Roma he has won one Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana. He has become a first-choice centre-back for Roma, and wears the number four jersey. Juan scored his first goal for Roma against Reggina on 16 September 2007.

In the 2011–12 season, he usually plays alongside Gabriel Heinze. He scored his seventh goal for Roma in a 5–1 win over Cesena on 21 January 2012. He scored again in Roma's 4–2 loss Cagliari in Sardinia, followed by his third goal of the season, and the opening goal, in Roma's 4–0 demolition of Internazionale at the Stadio Olimpico. Thus far he has scored nine goals for Roma.

International career[link]

Juan plays for the Brazil national football team. Juan played on Brazil's tournament winning teams in the Copa América 2004 and the Copa América 2007. He is widely considered to be one of the most consistent players on the Brazilian national team, with generally solid performances. He was also part of the Brazil squad which participated in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. On 28 June 2010, Juan scored the first goal against Chile with a headed finish from a corner as Brazil won 3–0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[2]

Career statistics[link]

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
01.	11 July 2004	Estadio Monumental Virgen de Chapi, Arequipa, Peru	Costa Rica	2 – 0	4 – 1	2004 Copa América
02.	4 September 2005	Estádio Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil	Chile	1 – 0	5 – 0	World Cup Qualifying
03.	24 March 2007	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Chile	4 – 0	4 – 0	International Friendly
04.	7 July 2007	Estadio Olímpico Luis Ramos, Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela	Chile	1 – 0	6 – 1	2007 Copa América
05.	6 June 2009	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	2 – 0	4 – 0	World Cup Qualifying
06.	15 June 2009	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa	Egypt	3 – 1	4 – 3	2009 Confederations Cup
07.	28 June 2010	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Chile	1 – 0	3 – 0	2010 World Cup

Honours[link]

Flamengo

• Copa Mercosur: 1999
• Campeonato Carioca: 1999, 2000, 2001
• Copa dos Campeões: 2001

Roma

• Coppa Italia: 2008
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2007

International

• Copa América 2004, 2007
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005, 2009

References[link]

External links[link]

• A.S. Roma player profile
• Leverkusen who's who

Brazil squad v t e Brazil squad – 2001 Copa América 1 Marcos 2 Belletti 3 Cris 4 Roque Júnior 5 Eduardo Costa 6 Roger 7 Geovanni 8 Emerson (c) 9 Guilherme 10 Juninho Paulista 11 Denílson 12 Dida 13 Alessandro 14 Luisão 15 Juan 16 Júnior 17 Juninho Pernambucano 18 Rochemback 19 Fernando 20 Alex 21 Ewerthon 22 Jardel Coach: Scolari v t e Brazil squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Dida 2 Belletti 3 Lúcio 4 Juan 5 Emerson (c) 6 Gilberto 7 Ronaldinho 8 Kléberson 9 Adriano 10 Ricardinho 11 Gil 12 Júlio César 13 Maurinho 14 Fábio Luciano 15 Edu Dracena 16 Kléber 17 Eduardo Costa 18 Dudu Cearense 19 Adriano Gabiru 20 Alex 21 Ilan 22 Luís Fabiano 23 Fábio Coach: Parreira v t e Brazil squad – 2004 Copa América Winners (7th Title) 1 Júlio César 2 Mancini 3 Luisão 4 Juan 5 Renato 6 Gustavo Nery 7 Adriano 8 Kléberson 9 Luís Fabiano 10 Alex (c) 11 Edu 12 Fábio 13 Maicon 14 Bordon 15 Cris 16 Dudu Cearense 17 Adriano Correia 18 Júlio Baptista 19 Diego 20 Felipe 21 Oliveira 22 Vágner Love Coach: Parreira v t e Brazil squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (2nd Title) 1 Dida 2 Maicon 3 Lúcio 4 Roque Júnior 5 Emerson 6 Gilberto 7 Robinho 8 Kaká 9 Adriano 10 Ronaldinho (c) 11 Zé Roberto 12 Marcos 13 Cicinho 14 Juan 15 Luisão 16 Léo 17 Gilberto Silva 18 Juninho 19 Renato 20 Júlio Baptista 21 Oliveira 22 Edu 23 Gomes Coach: Parreira v t e Brazil squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Dida 2 Cafu (c) 3 Lúcio 4 Juan 5 Emerson 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Adriano 8 Kaká 9 Ronaldo 10 Ronaldinho 11 Zé Roberto 12 Rogério Ceni 13 Cicinho 14 Luisão 15 Cris 16 Gilberto 17 Gilberto Silva 18 Mineiro 19 Juninho 20 Ricardinho 21 Fred 22 Júlio César 23 Robinho Coach: Parreira v t e Brazil squad – 2007 Copa América Winners (8th Title) 1 Helton 2 Maicon 3 Alex 4 Juan 5 Mineiro 6 Gilberto 7 Elano 8 Gilberto Silva (c) 9 Vágner Love 10 Diego 11 Robinho 12 Doni 13 Daniel Alves 14 Alex Silva 15 Naldo 16 Kléber 17 Josué 18 Fernando 19 Júlio Baptista 20 Anderson 21 Afonso Alves 22 Fred Coach: Dunga v t e Brazil squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (3rd Title) 1 Júlio César 2 Maicon 3 Lúcio (c) 4 Juan 5 Felipe Melo 6 Kléber 7 Elano 8 Gilberto Silva 9 Luís Fabiano 10 Kaká 11 Robinho 12 Victor 13 Daniel Alves 14 Luisão 15 Miranda 16 André Santos 17 Josué 18 Ramires 19 Júlio Baptista 20 Kléberson 21 Pato 22 Nilmar 23 Gomes Coach: Dunga v t e Brazil squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Júlio César 2 Maicon 3 Lúcio (c) 4 Juan 5 Felipe Melo 6 Michel Bastos 7 Elano 8 Gilberto Silva 9 Luís Fabiano 10 Kaká 11 Robinho 12 Gomes 13 Daniel Alves 14 Luisão 15 Thiago Silva 16 Gilberto 17 Josué 18 Ramires 19 Júlio Baptista 20 Kléberson 21 Nilmar 22 Doni 23 Grafite Coach: Dunga

Santos, originally Portuguese or Spanish for Saints (singular Santo), is a common surname in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries and the Philippines. Sometimes it can be the final part of a given name, generally preceded by the particle dos or de los (of the, meaning of the Saints, as in Miguel dos Santos, Michael of the Saints). It is a name associated with a great number of different people:

General[link]

• Ahmed Santos (newspaper columnist) (born 1974), Mexican newspaper columnist and former boxer
• Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873–1932), Brazilian aviation pioneer
• Alfredo M. Santos (1905–1990), former Filipino AFP chief of staff
• Domitila, Marchioness of Santos (1797–1867), Brazilian noblewoman and the mistress of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil
• Lúcia dos Santos, known as Sister Lúcia of Jesus, Portuguese Roman Catholic Carmelite nun and seer of Our Lady of Fatima
• José Abad Santos (1886–1942), 5th Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
• Paulino Santos, (1890-1945), Filipino military
• Rufino Jiao Santos (1908–1973), Filipino Archbishop of Manila
• Santos Benavides (1823–1891), American military
• Vicente Abad Santos (1916–1993), Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines

Arts[link]

• Santos (artist) (Sante Pucello, born 1971), Italian DJ
• Antony Santos (born 1967), Dominican Bachata singer/composer
• Anthony "Romeo" Santos, Dominican-American song writer, lead singer, and featured composer of Aventura
• Ary dos Santos (1937–1984), Portuguese poet
• Charo Santos (born 1955), Filipino actress and president of ABS-CBN Network
• Daniel Santos (singer) (1916–1992), Puerto Rican singer and composer
• Domingo Santos (born 1941), Spanish writer
• Enrique Santos Discépolo (1901–1951), Argentinian musician
• Erik Ramos Santos (born 1982), Filipino singer
• Henry Santos Jeter, Dominican singer and composer/vocals for Aventura
• Joe Santos (born 1931), American actor
• Joly Braga Santos (1924–1988), Portuguese composer and conductor
• José dos Santos Ferreira (1919–1993), Portuguese-Macanese writer
• Jovino Santos-Neto (born 1954), Brazilian musician
• Judy Ann Santos (born 1978), Filipino actress
• Gervacio Santos, Filipino film editor
• Lenny Santos, Dominican-American guitarist, producer/arranger for Aventura
• Lucélia Santos (born 1957), Brazilian actress, director and producer
• Mayra Santos-Febres (born 1966), Puerto-Rican writer
• Max Santos, Dominican-American bassist for Aventura
• Matthew Santos (born 1982), American alternative music singer
• Nelson Pereira dos Santos (born 1928), Brazilian movie director
• Pablo Santos (1987–2006), Mexican actor
• Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos (born 1941), known as Pepetela, Angolan writer
• Rhea Santos (born 1979), Filipino TV news host and journalist
• Roberto Santos (1928–1987), Brazilian film director
• Santos Ortega (1899–1976), American actor
• Vilma Santos, Filipino actress
• José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos (1929–1987), known as Zeca Afonso, Portuguese singer, composer and poet

Politicians[link]

• Ahmed Santos (militant), Filipino convert to Islam and political militant
• Antonio da Costa Santos (died 2001), Brazilian architect and politician
• António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes (born 1935), Portuguese general and politician
• Conrad Santos (born 1934), Canadian politician
• Elvin Santos (born 1963), Honduras 2009 presidential candidate
• Eduardo Santos Montejo, owned the El Tiempo newspaper, and served as the President of Colombia from August 1938 to August 1942
• Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos (born 1950), Angolan politician
• Hélio de Oliveira Santos (born 1950), Brazilian physician and politician
• José Eduardo dos Santos (born 1942), Angolan politician
• José Santos Guardiola (1816–1862), Honduran 19th Century politician
• José Santos Zelaya (1853–1919), Nicaraguan politician
• Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Colombian politician
• Manuel António dos Santos (born 1943), Portuguese politician
• Santos Acosta (1830–1901), Colombian general and political figure
• Marcelino dos Santos (born 1929), Mozambican politician

Sports[link]

• Álvaro Santos (born 1980), Brazilian footballer
• Alessandro dos Santos, Brazilian-Japanese footballer
• Andréia dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
• Arwind Santos (born 1981), Filipino basketball player
• Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, Portuguese footballer
• Daniel Santos (boxer) (born 1975), Puerto Rican boxer
• Daiane dos Santos (born 1983), Brazilian gymnast
• Djalma Santos (born 1929), Brazilian footballer
• Éder dos Santos (born 1984), Mexican footballer
• Edgardo Santos (born 1970), Puerto Rican professional boxer
• Fausto dos Santos (1905–1939), Brazilian footballer
• Fernando Santos (Brazilian footballer born 1980)
• Fernando Santos (Portuguese footballer) (born 1954), now a football manager
• Francileudo Santos (born 1979), Brazilian-born Tunisian footballer
• Georges Santos, French-born (born 1970), Cape Verdean footballer
• Giovani dos Santos (born 1989), Mexican footballer
• Héctor Santos (born 1944), Uruguayan footballer
• Jonathan dos Santos (born 1990), Mexican footballer
• Julio Santos (born 1976), Ecuadorian freestyle swimmer
• Junior dos Santos (born 1984), Brazilian mixed martial artist
• Leslie George Santos, Hong Kong footballer
• Luís Santos (born 1980), Brazilian water polo goalkeeper
• Luís Fernando Rodrigues dos Santos (born 1983), Brazilian footballer
• Luíz Antônio dos Santos (born 1964), Brazilian long-distance runner
• Marco Aurélio Cunha dos Santos (born 1967), Brazilian footballer
• Maria Santos (swimmer) (born 1978), Portuguese swimmer
• Nílton Santos (born 1925), Brazilian football player
• Omir Santos (born 1981), Puerto Rican baseball player
• Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (born 1966), Portuguese footballer
• Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite "Kaká" (born 1982), Brazilian footballer
• Ricardo Santos (born 1975), Brazilian beach volleyball player
• Rodrigo dos Santos (born 1981), Brazilian water polo player
• Ronivaldo Santos Conceição (born 1972), Brazilian squash player
• Santos Sambajon (born 1960), Philippine pocket billiards player
• Sueli dos Santos (born 1965), Brazilian javelin thrower
• Tiago Alencar dos Santos (born 1986), Brazilian footballer
• Victor Irving Santos (born 1976), Dominican-American baseball player
• Yanelis Santos (born 1986), Cuban volleyball player

Others[link]

• Airton Ribeiro Santos (born 1990), Brazilian footballer
• André Bernardes Santos (born 1989), Portuguese midfielder footballer
• André Santos (born 1983), Brazilian Footballer
• Fernando Castro Santos (born 1952), Spanish football manager
• Flavio Santos (born 1987)
• Johan Santos (born 1987), Filipino television actor
• Kelly Santos (born 1979), Brazilian WNBA basketball player
• Lulu Santos (born 1953), Brazilian singer and guitarist
• Maicon Santos (born 1984), Brazilian footballer
• Marc Dos Santos (born 1977), Canadian soccer manager
• Nicholas Santos (born 1980), Brazilian freestyle swimmer
• Rey-Phillip Santos (born 1975), martial artist turned actor
• Ricky Santos (born 1984), American Canadian football quarterback
• Riza Santos (born 1987), Filipino-Canadian beauty queen
• Rodney Santos (born 1973), Filipino professional basketball player
• Sérgio Santos (born 1975), Brazilian professional volleyball player
• Sergio Santos (born 1983), Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
• Tony Santos, Spanish funk/R&B singer

Characters[link]

• Santos Family, in the American soap opera Guiding Light
  • Danny Santos
  • Michelle Bauer Santos, a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light
• Matt Santos, character on the United States television show The West Wing
• Manny Santos, character on the Canadian television show Degrassi: The Next Generation

[edit] All My Children

• Julia Santos
• Mateo Santos
• Maria Santos
• Isabella Santos
• Rosa Santos

See also[link]

• Santos (disambiguation)

This page or section lists people with the surname Santos. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Lionel Messi

Messi playing for Barcelona
Personal information
Full name	Lionel Andrés Messi[1]
Date of birth	(1987-06-24) 24 June 1987 (age 25)[1]
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina[1]
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Barcelona
Number	10
Youth career
1995–2000	Newell's Old Boys
2000–2003	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2004	Barcelona C	8	(5)
2004–2005	Barcelona B	22	(6)
2004–	Barcelona	214	(169)
National team‡
2005	Argentina U20	16	(11)
2008	Argentina U23	5	(2)
2005–	Argentina	68	(22)
Honours Competitor for  Argentina Men's Football Gold 2008 Beijing Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:30, 13 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:30, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Lionel Andrés Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays in La Liga for FC Barcelona and is the captain of the Argentina national team, mainly as a forward.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year in 2009 he won both the Ballon d'Or^[2] and FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011.^[3] He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Messi is the fourth football player to win three Ballons d'Or, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballons d'Or, after Michel Platini. His playing style and small stature have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".^[4][5]

Messi has won five La Liga titles and three Champions League titles. In 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, in a 7–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen.^[6] With two goals in the next round against A.C. Milan, he matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single UEFA Champions League/European Cup season.^[7] He also became the first player to top-score in four successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns.^[8][9] He set the world record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.^[10]

Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals. 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, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.

Early life[link]

Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, to parents Jorge Horacio Messi, a factory steel worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner.^{[11][12][13][14]} His paternal family originates from the Italian city of Ancona, from which his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883.^[15][16] He has two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and a sister, María Sol.^[17] At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge.^[18] In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario.^[18] At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.^[19] Local powerhouse 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.^[14] 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 with the team.^[14] Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered Messi a contract written on a paper napkin.^[20][21] 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.^[18][21]

Club career[link]

Barcelona[link]

Messi played in Barcelona's junior Infantil B and Cadete B & A teams from 2000 to 2003 (scoring 37 goals in 30 matches in Cadete A). Season 2003–04 saw him on a record^[22] five different teams: He started one match in Juvenil B (one goal) and got promoted to Juvenil A (14 matches, 21 goals). Later he debuted for FC Barcelona C team (Tercera División) on 29 November 2003 and for FC Barcelona B (Segunda División B) on 6 March 2004. He played for both teams during the season (eight matches, five goals and five games, zero goals, respectively).^[23][24][25] Even before these two debuts, 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.^[26][27]

Less than a year after his start, Frank Rijkaard gave him 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, which would be 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^[28] until it was again broken by Bojan Krkić in 2007, scoring from a Messi assist.^[29] 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."^[30] During the season, Messi played also in Barcelona B (Segunda División B) scoring 6 goals in 17 matches.

2005–06 season[link]

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.^[18] Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on 26 September 2005^[31] 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.^[26] 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.^[32]

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.^[33] Rijkaard's Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and Europe.^[34][35]

2006–07 season[link]

Messi in a match against Rangers in 2007

In the 2006–07 season, Messi established himself as a regular first team player, scoring 14 times in 26 matches.^[36] On 12 November, in the game against Real Zaragoza, Messi suffered a broken metatarsal, ruling him out for three months.^[37][38] 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.^[39] 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.^[40] 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.^[41]

Messi shortly before scoring a goal against Getafe

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.^[42] 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.^[43] The world's sports press drew comparisons with Maradona, and the Spanish press labelled Messi as "Messidona".^[44] He ran about the same distance, 62 metres (203 ft), 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.^[42] 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."^[45] 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.^[46] Despite protests by Espanyol players and replays showing it was clear handball, the goal stood.^[46]

2007–08 season[link]

Messi takes Barcelona to 2–0 against Sevilla at Camp Nou on 22 September 2007

On 27 February, Messi played in his 100th official match for Barcelona against Valencia.^[47]

Messi was nominated for a FIFPro World XI Player Award under the category of Forward.^[48] 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.^[49] 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.^[50] Football personalities such as Francesco Totti have declared that they consider Messi to be one of the current best footballers in the world.^[51]

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.^[52] When the season was over Messi managed to score 16 goals and assisted 13 times in all competition.

2008–09 season[link]

Upon Ronaldinho's departure from the club, Messi inherited his number 10 jersey.^[53] During this season he placed second in the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year awards with 678 points.

Michael Carrick defending a shot from Messi in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final

Messi scored his first hat-trick of 2009 in a Copa del Rey tie against Atlético Madrid which Barcelona won 3–1.^[54] 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.^[55] On 8 April 2009, he scored twice against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, setting a personal record of eight goals in the competition.^[56]

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^[57] in what was Real's heaviest defeat since 1930.^[58] 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.^[59] 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.^[60] 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.^[61] This victory meant Barcelona had won the Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League in the one season,^[62] and was the first time a Spanish club had ever won the treble.^[63]

2009–10 season[link]

After winning the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola asserted that Messi was probably the best player he had ever seen.^[65] 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.^[66][67]

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.^[68][69][70]

Messi at the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup

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.^[71] Two days later, he was given the FIFA World Player of the Year award,^[72] 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 Argentinian to ever receive this honour.^[73] 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,^[74] and on 17 January he scored his 100th goal for the club in the 4–0 victory over Sevilla.^[75]

Messi scored a hat-trick against Valencia CF in a 3–0 home win,^[76] and finally he scored another hat-trick against Zaragoza in a 4–2 away win,^[77] becoming the first Barcelona player to score back-to-back hat-tricks in La Liga.^[78] He played his 200th official match for Barcelona against Osasuna on 24 March 2010.^[79]

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.^[82][83] This also saw him overtake Rivaldo as Barcelona's all time greatest scorer in the competition.^[84] In the final league match of the season 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,^[85][86] and to finish four goals behind the all-time record held by Telmo Zarra.^[87] He was named La Liga player of the year for the second year in a row on 3 June 2010.^[88]

2010–11 season[link]

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.^[89]

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.^[90] 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".^[91] The incident caused widespread media attention and brought up the debate of equality in protecting all players in the game.

Against Almería Messi scored his second hat-trick of the season in an impressive 8–0 away win, the second of which was his 100th La Liga goal.^[92]

Messi playing against Real Madrid in a Champions League match

Messi won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, beating his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Iniesta.^[93] Messi had been nominated for the awards for the fourth consecutive year.^[94] 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.^[95] 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."^[96]

After failing to score for a month he scored a brace against UD Almería; the second goal was his 47th of the season, equalling his club record return of the previous season.^[97] 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.^[98] He scored his eighth 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 CA Osasuna in a 2–0 home victory which he came on as a substitute in the 60th minute.^[99] He finished the season by winning La Liga and scoring 31 goals.

On 20 April, Barcelona were defeated by arch-rivals Real Madrid in the 2011 Copa del Rey Final. Messi set up a goal for Pedro, which was however ruled offside. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the match in extra time. Messi was however the joint top-scorer of the tournament along with Cristiano Ronaldo, with 7 goals.^{[100] [101][101]}

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.^[102][103] 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.^[104] This was also Messi's 12th goal in the Champions League that season, which allowed him to tie Ruud Van Nistelrooy's record of 12 goals in a single European Cup season, after it was re-established as the UEFA Champions League, in 1992.^[101] The overall record of goals scored in a single European Cup Season, is José Altafini's record of 14 goals, which Messi did however equal in the following season.^[101] Messi finished the 2010-11 season with 53 goals in all competitions.

2011–12 season[link]

Messi started the season by lifting the Spanish Supercup with Barcelona, scoring three goals and providing two assists in a 5–4 aggregate win against Real Madrid.^[105] His vital interventions continued in the next official match played against Porto when he scored again following a weak back pass from Fredy Guarín before setting up Cesc Fàbregas to give Barcelona a 2–0 victory and the UEFA Super Cup,^[106] then the only official competition that remained for him to score in.^[107]

After scoring his first goal of an eventual hat-trick in an 8–0 rout against Osasuna, Messi produced a special celebration for Soufian, a 10-year-old Moroccan boy with Laurin Sandrow syndrome, a rare medical condition that can eventually lead to the loss of the lower extremities. Whilst Messi usually points to the sky after scoring a goal, Messi slapped his thighs as a dedication to Soufian.^[108]

In August, Messi became the second highest goalscorer surpassing László Kubala on 194 goals, being behind only to César Rodríguez on 232 goals in all official competitions.^[109]

On 28 September, Messi scored his first two Champions League goals of the season against BATE Borisov,^[110] becoming Barcelona's second highest goalscorer in its history, tying László Kubala, at 194 goals in all official competitions.^[111] He surpassed that record when he scored two goals against Racing Santander.^[112] He became second in Barcelona's La Liga goalscorers list with 132 goals, one more than Kubala.^[113] He scored his 200th Barcelona goal and two more as part of a hat-trick in his next game against Viktoria Plzeň in the Champions League.^[114]

Messi scored a brace in the Club World Cup Final against Santos and was recognized as the man of the match and also awarded the Golden Ball for his performance during the tournament.^[115]

Messi won the 2011 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, beating his Barcelona team-mate Xavi Hernández and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi won the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, again beating his team-mate Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo. By winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or again, Messi become the fourth player to win three Ballon d'Ors, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco Van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballon d'Ors, after Michel Platini (although two of his Ballon d'Ors are FIFA Ballon d'Ors, which he won consecutively).

On 19 February 2012, Messi, on his 200th La Liga appearance, scored four goals against Valencia in a 5–1 win.^[116] On 7 March, Messi became the first player to score five goals in an UEFA Champions League match since the tournament's re-establishment in 1992, helping the defending champions Barcelona win 7–1 against Bayer Leverkusen.^[117]

On 20 March, Messi scored three goals against Granada, making him FC Barcelona's leading goalscorer in official competitions, surpassing club legend César Rodríguez, who had previously held the record with 232.^[118]

On 3 April, Messi scored two goals from penalty kicks against Milan in the second leg of the Champions League Quarter-final, allowing him to surpass his personal record, joint with Ruud van Nistelrooy, of 12 goals in a single UEFA Champions League season. These goals allowed him to tie José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single European Cup season in the 1962–63 season, before the tournament's re-establishment as the UEFA Champions League in 1992.^[101] Barcelona were knocked out in the semi-finals to eventual winners Chelsea.

On 11 April, Messi scored his 61th goal against Getafe, surpassing Isidro Langara's record of 60 goals in 1933–34, and became the best goalscorer in history in one season in Spain.^{[citation needed]}

On 2 May, Messi scored a hat-trick against Málaga surpassing Gerd Müller's record (67 goals in 1972-73) with 68 goals, and thus becoming the best goalscorer in history in one season in Europe.^[119] It was the 21st multi-goal game of the season for Messi and his seventh La Liga hat-trick.^[120] He then scored four goals on 5 May against Espanyol to take his tally to an unprecedented 72 goals, in the process becoming only the second player to pass 70 goals in a first division season since Archie Stark of Bethlehem Steel in the American Soccer League in 1924–25.^[121]

On 25 May, he scored again in the 2012 Copa del Rey Final, helping Barcelona win their 26th Spanish Cup title, and increasing his seasonal goalscoring record to an unmatched 73 goals in all competitions.^{[122] [123]} This was also Guardiola's last match as Barcelona's manager, and the Cup win marked Messi's second Copa del Rey title, after losing the final the year before, as well as his 14th Barcelona trophy during Guardiola's 4 seasons at the club. Although Barcelona failed to win their 4th consecutive Liga title under Guardiola, finishing runners up to arch-rivals Real Madrid, Messi finished the 2011–12 season as the top goalscorer in La Liga for a second time, with a Liga record of 50 goals. He also ended the season as the UEFA Champions' League Top Scorer for a fourth consecutive time, with 14 goals.^[124]

International career[link]