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Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 19 May 1989), who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J.R. Johnson, was an Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts. His work is a staple of subaltern studies, and he figures as a pioneering and influential voice in postcolonial literature.^[1] His work is often associated with Caribbean and Afro-nationalism, though James himself contended that the "either-or" was a false dichotomy, and that Caribbean peoples were indebted to European as much as African cultural traditions.^[2] A tireless political activist, James's writing on the Communist International stirred debate in Trotskyist circles, and his history of the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins, is a seminal text in the literature of the African Diaspora.^[3]

Characterized by one literary critic as an "anti-Stalinist dialectician",^[4] James was known for his autodidactic facility, for his occasional playwriting and fiction, and as an avid sportsman. He is also famed as a writer on cricket.^[5]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, then a British Crown colony, James attended Queen's Royal College, a high school in Port of Spain. He later worked as a schoolteacher, teaching among others the young Eric Williams, who later became the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Together with Ralph de Boissière, Albert Gomes and Alfred Mendes, James was a member of the anti-colonialist "Beacon Group", a circle of writers associated with The Beacon magazine, in which he published a series of short stories.

In 1932, he left Trinidad for the small town of Nelson in Lancashire, England, at the invitation of his friend, West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine, who needed his help writing his autobiography Cricket and I (published in 1933). During this time James took a job as cricket correspondent with the Manchester Guardian.

London years[link]

In 1933 James moved to London, where he joined a Trotskyist group in 1934 that met to talk for hours in James's rented room. Remembering those times, group member Louise Cripps recalled, "We felt our work could contribute to the time when we would see Socialism spreading..." Cripps has described her intimate relationship with James in a memoir, C.L.R. James: Memories and Commentaries (1997).^[6]

James had begun to campaign for the independence of the West Indies while in Trinidad, and his Life of Captain Cipriani and the pamphlet The Case for West-Indian Self Government were his first important published works. He became a champion of Pan-Africanism, and was named Chair of the International African Friends of Abyssinia, a group formed in 1935 in response to the Italian fascist invasion of Ethiopia (Second Italo-Abyssinian War).

When the IAFE was transformed into the International African Service Bureau, James edited its journal, International African Opinion.The Bureau was led by his childhood friend George Padmore, who would be a driving force for socialist Pan-Africanism for several decades. Both Padmore and James wrote for the New Leader, published by the Independent Labour Party, which James joined, finding its anti-communist socialism compatible with his views.^[7]

In this period, amid his frenetic political activity, James wrote a play about Toussaint L'Ouverture, which was staged in the West End in 1936 and starred Paul Robeson and Robert Adams. That same year saw the publication in London of James's only novel, Minty Alley, which he had brought with him in manuscript from Trinidad. It was the first novel to be published by a black Caribbean author in the UK.

He also wrote what are perhaps his best-known works of non-fiction: World Revolution (1937), a history of the rise and fall of the Communist International, which was critically praised by Leon Trotsky; and The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution (1938), a widely acclaimed history of the Haitian Revolution, which would later be seen as a seminal text in the study of the African diaspora. He went to Paris to research this work, where he met Alfred Auguste Nemours.

In 1936, James and his Trotskyist Marxist Group left the Independent Labour Party to form an open party. In 1938, this new group took part in several mergers to form the Revolutionary Socialist League (RSL). The RSL was a highly factionalized organization. When James was invited to tour the United States by the leadership of the Socialist Workers' Party (SWP), then the US section of the Fourth International, to facilitate its work among black workers, John Archer encouraged him to leave in the hope of removing a rival.^{[citation needed]} James's relationship with Louise Cripps had broken up after her second abortion, so that intimate tie no longer bound him to England.^[8]

US career and the Johnson-Forest Tendency[link]

James travelled to the USA in late 1938, and after a tour sponsored by the SWP, he stayed until he was deported in 1953. By 1940 he had begun to doubt Trotsky's view of the Soviet Union as a degenerated workers state. He left the SWP along with Max Shachtman, who formed the Workers' Party (WP). Within the WP, James formed the Johnson-Forest Tendency with Raya Dunayevskaya (his pseudonym was Johnson and Dunayevskaya's was Forest) and Grace Lee (later Grace Lee Boggs) to spread their views within the new party.

While within the WP, the views of the Johnson-Forest Tendency underwent considerable development. By the end of the Second World War, they had definitively rejected Trotsky's theory of Russia as a degenerated workers state. Instead they classified it as state capitalist. This political evolution was shared by other Trotskyists of their generation, most notably Tony Cliff. Unlike Cliff, the Johnson-Forest Tendency was focusing increasingly on the liberation movements of oppressed minorities, a theoretical development already visible in James's thought in his 1939 discussions with Trotsky. Such liberation struggles came to take centre stage for the Johnson-Forest Tendency.

After World War II, the WP witnessed a downturn in revolutionary sentiment. The J-F Tendency, on the other hand, was encouraged by the prospects for revolutionary change for oppressed peoples. After a few short months as an independent group, during which time they published a great deal of material, in 1947 the Johnson-Forest Tendency joined the SWP, which it regarded as more proletarian than the WP.

James would still describe himself as a Leninist, despite his rejection of Lenin's conception of the vanguard role of the revolutionary party. He argued for socialists to support the emerging black nationalist movements. By 1949, James rejected the idea of a vanguard party. This led the Johnson-Forest Tendency to leave the Trotskyist movement and rename itself the Correspondence Publishing Committee.

In 1955 after James had left for England, about half the membership of the Committee withdrew, under the leadership of Raya Dunayevskaya, to form a separate tendency of Marxist-humanism and found the organization News and Letters Committees. Whether Dunayevskaya's faction had constituted a majority or a minority in the Correspondence Publishing Committee remains a matter of dispute. Historian Kent Worcester claims that Dunayevskaya's supporters formed a majority, but Martin Glaberman claims in New Politics that the faction loyal to James had a majority.^[9]

The Committee split again in 1962, as Grace Lee Boggs and James Boggs, two key activists, left to pursue a more Third Worldist approach. The remaining Johnsonites, including leading member Martin Glaberman, reconstituted themselves as Facing Reality. James advised the group from Great Britain until it dissolved in 1970, against his urging.^{[citation needed]}

James's writings were also influential in the development of Autonomist Marxism as a current within Marxist thought. He himself saw his life's work as developing the theory and practice of Leninism.^{[citation needed]}

London years, again[link]

In 1953, James was forced to leave the USA under threat of deportation for having overstayed his visa. In his attempt to remain in America, James wrote a study of Herman Melville, Mariners, Renegades and Castaways: The Story of Herman Melville and the World We Live In, and had copies of the privately published work sent to every member of the Senate. He wrote the book while being detained on Ellis Island. In an impassioned letter to his old friend George Padmore, James said that in Mariners he was using Moby Dick as a parable for the anti-communism sweeping the United States—a consequence, he thought, of Americans' uncritical faith in capitalism.^[10]

Returning to England, James appeared to Padmore and his partner Dorothy Pizer to be a man adrift. After James started reporting on cricket for the Manchester Guardian, Padmore wrote American novelist Richard Wright, "That will take him out of his ivory tower and making his paper revolution...."' ^[11] Grace Lee Boggs, a colleague from the Detroit group came to London in 1954 to work with him, but she, too, saw him "at loose ends, trying to find his way after fifteen years out of the country." ^[12]

In 1957, James traveled to Ghana for the celebration of its independence from British rule. He had met Ghana's new head of state, Kwame Nkrumah, in the United States when Nkrumah was studying there and sent him on to work with George Padmore in London after World War II; Padmore was by this point a close Nkrumah advisor and had written The Gold Coast Revolution (1953). Writing from Ghana in 1957, James told American friends that Nkrumah thought he, too, ought to write a book on the Convention Peoples Party, which under Nkrumah's leadership had brought the country to independence. The book would show how the party's strategies could be used to build a new African future. James invited Grace Lee Boggs, his colleague from Detroit, to join in the work, though in the end, James wrote Nkrumah and the Ghana Revolution on his own. It was not published until 1977, after Nkrumah's overthrow, exile and subsequent death.^[13]

Trinidad and return to Britain[link]

In 1958 James went back to Trinidad, where he edited The Nation newspaper for the pro-independence People's National Movement (PNM) party. He also became active again in the Pan-African movement. He believed that the Ghana revolution greatly encouraged anti-colonialist revolutionary struggle.

James also advocated the West Indies Federation. It was over this issue that he fell out with the PNM leadership. He returned to Great Britain. In 1968 he was invited to the USA, where he taught at the University of the District of Columbia.

Ultimately returning to Britain, he spent his last years in Brixton, London. In the 1980s, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from South Bank Polytechnic (later to become University of the South Bank, in London) for his body of socio-political work, including that relating to race and sport.

James died in London on 19 May 1989.

Personal life[link]

James married his first wife, Juanita Young, in Trinidad in 1929, but his move three years later to Britain led to their estrangement. James met his second wife, Constance Webb (1918–2005), an American model, actor and author, after he moved to the USA in 1938; they married in 1946 and were divorced in 1953, when James was deported to England. He and Webb had a son, C. L. R. James, Jr, familiarly known as Nobbie.^[14] In 1956 James married Selma Weinstein (née Deitch), who had been a young member of the Johnson-Forest Tendency; they remained close political colleagues for more than 25 years.

Legacy[link]

• In the 1970s and 1980s, a number of titles by James were published by Allison & Busby, including four volumes of selected writings: The Future In the Present, Spheres of Existence, At the Rendezvous of Victory, and Cricket.

• In 1983, a 60-minute British film, Talking History, featuring James in dialogue with the historian E. P. Thompson was made by Penumbra Productions, which company also filmed a series of six lectures by James, shown on Channel 4. The topics were: Shakespeare; Cricket; American society; Solidarity in Poland; the Caribbean; and Africa.^[15]

• The C.L.R. James Institute was founded with James's blessing by Jim Murray in 1983. Based in New York, and affiliated to the Centre for African Studies at Cambridge University, it has been run by Ralph Dumain since Murray's death in 2003.^[16]

• A public library in the London Borough of Hackney was named in his honour on 29 March 1985, when James attended the library’s naming ceremony,^[17] and his widow, Selma James, attended a reception there to mark its 20th anniversary in 2005. Hackney Council had intended to drop the name of the library as part of a new development in Dalston Square in the spring of 2011, but after protests from Selma James and local and international campaigners, the council promised that the library would after all retain the name of C. L. R. James. A council statement said: “As part of the new library, there will be a permanent exhibition to chronicle his life and works and an annual event in his memory, and we are pleased to report the state-of-the-art education room will also be named after this influential figure.” ^[18][19] The new Dalston C. L. R. James Library was officially opened on 28 February 2012.^[20][21] At the launch there on 2 March 2012 of a permanent exhibition dedicated to James's life and legacy, Selma James spoke.^[22]

• The Brixton Pound, a currency in use in Brixton only and created in an effort to keep money local and support local and independent traders, has a picture of C.L.R. James on the ten-pound note.

Writings on cricket[link]

C. L. R. James is widely known as a writer on cricket, especially for his autobiographical 1963 book, Beyond a Boundary. This is considered the seminal work on the game, and is often named as the best single book on cricket (or even the best book on any sport) ever written.^[23]

The book's key question, frequently quoted by modern journalists and essayists, is inspired by Rudyard Kipling and asks: "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?" James uses this challenge as the basis for describing cricket in an historical and social context, the strong influence cricket had on his life, and how it meshed with his role in politics and his understanding of issues of class and race. The literary quality of the writing attracts cricketers of all political views.

While editor of The Nation, he led the successful campaign in 1960 to have Frank Worrell appointed the first black captain of the West Indies cricket team. James believed that the relationship between players and the public was a prominent reason behind the West Indies' achieving so much with so little.

Select Bibliography[link]

• Letters from London (series of essays written in 1932). Signal Books (2003).
• The Life of Captain Cipriani: An Account of British Government in the West Indies. Nelson, Lancs.: Cartmel & Co. (1932).
• The Case for West-Indian Self-Government. London: Hogarth Press (1933). Reprinted, New York: University Place Bookshop (1967); Detroit: Facing Reality Publishing Co. (1967)
• Minty Alley. London: Secker & Warburg (1936). New edition, London & Port of Spain: New Beacon Books (1971).
• Toussaint L'Ouverture (play). Produced by Peter Godfrey at the Westminster Theatre, London (1936).
• World Revolution 1917-1936: The Rise and Fall of the Communist International. London: Secker & Warburg (1937).
• A History of Negro Revolt. Fact monograph no. 18, London (1938). Revised as A History of Pan-African Revolt. Washington: Drum and Spear Press (1969).
• The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. London: Secker & Warburg (1938). Revised edition, New York: Vintage Books/Random House (1963). ISBN 0-679-72467-2. Index starts at p. 419. Library of Congress Card Number: 63-15043. New British edition with Foreword, London: Allison & Busby (1980).
• Why Negroes should oppose the war (as "J. R. Johnson") New York: Pioneer Publishers for the Socialist Workers Party and the Young People's Socialist League (Fourth International (1939).
• My friends: a fireside chat on the war (as "Native Son") New York: Workers Party (1940).
• The Invading Socialist Society (with F. Forest and Ria Stone). New York: Johnson Forest Tendency (1947). Reprinted with new preface, Detroit: Bewick Editions (1972).
• Notes on Dialectics: Hegel, Marx and Lenin (Link only goes to the last half of Part 2 from the 1980 edition) (1948). New edition with Introduction, London: Allison & Busby; Westport, Conn.: Lawrence Hill (1980).
• Notes on American Civilisation. Typescript [1950], Published as American Civilization, Oxford: Blackwell (1992).
• State Capitalism and World Revolution (1950). New edition with foreword by James and introduction by Paul Buhle, Chicago: Charles H. Kerr (1986).
• Mariners, Renegades and Castaways: The Story of Herman Melville and the World We Live In. New York: privately printed (1953). Reprinted, London: Allison & Busby (1984).
• Facing Reality (with Cornelius Castoriadis and Grace Lee Boggs) Detroit: Correspondence (1958).
• Modern Politics (A series of lectures on the subject given at the Trinidad Public library, in its Adult Education Programme). Port of Spain: PNM Publishing Co.(1960).
• A convention appraisal: Dr. Eric Williams: first premier of Trinidad & Tobago: a biographical sketch. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: PNM Publishing Co. (1960).
• Party Politics in the West Indies. San Juan, Port of Spain: Vedic Enterprises (1962).
• Marxism and the intellectuals Detroit, Facing Reality Publishing Committee (1962).
• Beyond a Boundary. London: Stanley Paul/Hutchinson (1963). New edition, New York: Pantheon (1984).
• Kas-kas; interviews with three Caribbean writers in Texas. George Lamming, C. L. R. James [and] Wilson Harris. Austin, TX: African and Afro-American Research Institute, University of Texas at Austin (1972).
• Not For Sale (with Michael Manley). San Francisco: Editorial Consultants (1976).
• Nkrumah and the Ghana Revolution. London: Allison & Busby; Westport, Conn.: L. Hill (1977).
• The Future in the Present, Selected Writings, vol. 1. London: Allison & Busby; Westport, Conn.: Lawrence Hill (1977).
• Spheres of Existence, Selected Writings, vol. 2. London: Allison & Busby; Westport, Conn.: L. Hill (1980).
• 80th Birthday Lectures (ed. Margaret Busby and Darcus Howe). London: Race Today Publications (1983).
• At the Rendezvous of Victory, Selected Writings, vol. 3. London: Allison & Busby (1984).
• Cricket (selected writings, ed. Anna Grimshaw). London: Allison & Busby; distributed in the USA by Schocken Books (1986).

Further reading[link]

• Boggs, Grace Lee. Living for Change: An Autobiography. Minneapolis, London: University of Minnesota Press, 1998.
• Bogues, Anthony, Caliban's Freedom: The Early Political Thought of C. L. R. James. London: Pluto Press, 1997.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: C. L. R. James

• Buhle, Paul, C. L. R. James. The Artist as Revolutionary. London: Verso, 1988.
• Buhle, Paul (ed.), C. L. R. James: His Life and Work. London: Allison & Busby, 1986.
• Cripps, Louise. C.L.R. James: Memories and Commentaries. London: Cornwall Books, 1997.
• Dhondy, Farrukh, C. L. R. James: Cricket, the Caribbean and World Revolution. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001.
• Glaberman, Martin, Marxism for our Times: C. L. R. James on Revolutionary Organization, University Press of Mississippi, 1999.
• McClendon III, John H., C. L. R. James's Notes on Dialectics: Left Hegelianism or Marxism-Leninism?. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2004.
• McLemee, Scott & Paul LeBlanc (eds), C. L. R. James and Revolutionary Marxism: Selected Writings of C. L. R. James 1939-1949. Prometheus Books, 1994.
• Polsgrove, Carol. Ending British Rule in Africa: Writers in a Common Cause. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009.
• Renton, David, C.L.R. James: Cricket's Philosopher King, Haus Publishers, 2008.
• Rosengarten, Frank, Urbane Revolutionary: C. L. R. James and the Struggle for a New Society. University Press of Mississippi, 2007. ISBN 87-7289-096-7. 
• Webb, Constance, Not Without Love: Memoirs. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2003.
• Worcester, Kent, C. L. R. James. A Political Biography. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
• Young, James D., The World of C. L. R. James. The Unfragmented Vision. Glasgow: Clydeside Press, 1999.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The C.L.R. James Legacy Project
• The C.L.R. James Institute
• C L R James Archive
• Urgent Tasks - Number 12 "C. L. R. James: His Life and Work"
• CLR James Archive at libcom.org
• "On Karl Marx and the 75th Anniversary of the Paris Commune"
• "A Controversial Caribbean: C. L. R. James"
• "C. L. R. James and the virtues of spontaneity", in Trotskyism by Alex Callinicos
• "C. L. R. James: the revolutionary as artist", International Socialism 112 (2006)
• "Revolution as a New Beginning": an Interview with Grace Lee Boggs. Autonomy & Solidarity. Aidan. April 1, 2005 - 7:08pm. Retrieved April 15, 2005. Longtime associate of C. L. R. James discusses their work and her later career.

Lee Ha Yi (Hangul: 이하이, born September 23, 1996), also known by her stage name Lee Hi, is a South Korean singer. She is known as the SBS's "Survival K-Pop Star" runner-up of 2011. Her debut single "1,2,3,4", was released on October 28, 2012 and reached #1 with the first-week sales of 667,549 downloads.^[1][2] Following the launch of her solo career, Lee Hi is expected to debut as a member of forthcoming girl group SuPearls managed by the same entertainment agency.^[3]

Biography[link]

Lee Ha Yi was born on September 23, 1996, and from Bucheon. She attended Sukchun Elementary School and Sangil Middle School, where she was a student of popular youtuber, Simon Stawski. She is currently in School of performing Arts in Seoul.^[2]

Career[link]

In 2012, Lee Hi finished as the runner-up of Survival K-Pop Star,^[4] and was scouted out by YG Entertainment CEO, Yang Hyun-suk.^[5]

On October 8, Epik High released their first song in about three years entitled "It's Cold" featuring Lee Ha Yi.^[3]

On October 29, Lee Hi's new single "1,2,3,4" was released. The song was written by Masta Wu and produced by CHOICE37 and Lydia Paek. The music video was directed by director Han Sa Min, who also did 2NE1‘s “Lonely” and Big Bang’s “Blue” and “Monster."^[6] The song reached #1 on all the main music charts.^[7] The song ranked #1 for five consecutive days.^[8] She also dominated montly charts.^[9][10] She has ranked on the top spot 11 times on the hourly real time charts, which set a record for female soloists in 2012^[11] She performed "1,2,3,4" on Inkigayo on November 4.^[12]

Her second single, “Scarecrow”, was released on November 22, 2012.^[13]

In 2013, Her debut album will be released in March.^[14]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

K-pop Star Tracks[link]

Videography[link]

Music videos[link]

Awards[link]

World Music Awards[link]

Golden Disk Awards[link]

Seoul Music Awards[link]

Music Shows[link]

[edit] M! Countdown

'References'[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

ko:이하이

hu:I Hai zh:李遐怡

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]

Often referred to as an Argentinian-Spanish player, this crossover was brought into sharp focus when in 2004, Lionel was offered the chance to play for the Spanish national U-20 team. He declined the offer given his Argentinian heritage, and was given the opportunity to play for Argentina's U-20 team in a friendly match against Paraguay in June 2004.^[125] In 2005 he was part of a team that finished 3rd in 2005 South American Youth Championship in Colombia. He won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands with the team and won the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe,^[126] 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, claimed that Messi had allegedly elbowed defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious and Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi was later reportedly found weeping in the changing rooms after the decision.^[127][128] 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."^[129] He then started his first game for Argentina against Peru, in which he was able to win a crucial penalty for Argentina; after the match Pekerman described Messi as "a jewel".^[130]

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.^[131]

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.^[132] Messi scored another last-minute goal on 9 February 2011 against Portugal in a penalty kick which gave his side a 2–1 victory in the friendly match, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland.^[133] His first hat-trick for Albiceleste came against Switzerland, on 29 February 2012 which the game ended 3–1 for Argentina.^[134]

2006 World Cup[link]

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.^[135][136] He witnessed Argentina's opening match victory against Ivory Coast from the substitute's bench.^[137] 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.^[138] Messi started in Argentina's following 0–0 draw against the Netherlands.^[139] 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.^[140][141] Coach José Pekerman left Messi on the bench during the quarter-final match against Germany, which they lost 4–2 on a penalty shootout.^[142]

2007 Copa América[link]

Messi at the 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.^[143]

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.^[144]

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.^[145] 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.^[146] 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.^[147] Argentina went on to lose 3–0 to Brazil in the final.^[148]

2008 Summer Olympics[link]

Messi in the semi-final against Brazil at the 2008 Olympics

Having barred Messi from playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics,^[149] Barcelona agreed to release him after he held talks with newly appointed coach Josep Guardiola.^[150] He joined the Argentina squad and scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over Ivory Coast.^[150] 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.^[151] 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.^[152]

2010 World Cup[link]

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.^[153] 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.^[154] 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.^[155]

Messi playing against Bolivia at the 2011 Copa América

At the Round of 16 he assisted Carlos Tévez for the first goal in a 3–1 win against Mexico. The World Cup ended for Argentina with a 4–0 loss against Germany in the quarter-finals.^[156]

Messi was nominated in ten player shortlist for Golden Ball award by FIFA Technical Study Group. The group identified Messi with words: "Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular and efficient".^[157]

2011 Copa América[link]

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[link]

Personal life[link]

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.^[158][159] He has in the past also been linked to the Argentine glamour model Luciana Salazar.^[160][161] 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".^[161] He was seen with the girl, Antonella Roccuzzo,^[162] at a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. Roccuzzo is a fellow native of Rosario.^[163]

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.^[164][165]

Charity[link]

In 2007, Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children.^[166][167] In response to Messi’s own childhood medical difficulties, the Leo Messi Foundation has offered Argentine children diagnosed with illnesses treatment in Spain and funds covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs.^[168] 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.^[169] Messi’s UNICEF ambassador activities are aimed at supporting children’s rights. Messi is supported in this by Barcelona, who also have a strong association with UNICEF.^[170]

Wealth[link]

In March 2010, France Football ranked him at the top of its list of the world's richest footballers, ahead of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, with £29.6 million (€33 million) in combined income from salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings.^[171][172] His net wealth is estimated at $110 millon.^[173]

Media[link]

An example of Messi's popularity and influence. Photographed in India

Messi was 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.^[174][175] Messi, along with Fernando Torres,^[176] is the face of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, and was also involved in the motion capturing and the trailer.^{[177][178][179]} However, in November 2011 Messi was confirmed as the new face of PES's rival football series FIFA with his debut as a cover star of the series coming in 2012's FIFA Street. Messi is sponsored by the German sportswear company Adidas and features in their television advertisements.^[180] In June 2010, Messi also signed a three–year contract with Herbalife^[181] which further supports the Leo Messi Foundation.

Messi was named twice in the Time 100, the magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world, respectively in 2011^[182] and in 2012^[183].

Also in April 2011, Messi launched a Facebook page and within a few hours, his page had attracted more than six million followers. His Facebook page had over 33 million followers in March 2012.^[184]

In May 2012, ex-Real Madrid player Royston Drenthe claimed Lionel Messi repeatedly called him "negro" during his time in Spain.^[185] A counter statement issued by Barcelona said: "Messi has always shown a maximum respect and sportsmanship towards his rivals, something which has been recognized by his fellow professionals many times.^[186]

On 26 May 2012, Messi was mistakenly announced dead by FOX Sports on its Twitter feed. "We must report the sad news that Lionel Messi is deceased from a heart attack during training #RipMessi," said the tweet that was sent to its followers. The message was deleted seconds later, with FOX Sports then going into damage control mode, while also blaming hackers for the incident.^[187]

Career statistics[link]

As of 13 May 2012^{[23][188][189]}

Club[link]

International[link]

^{[36][191][192][193][194]}

International goals[link]

Under–20[link]

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.^[191][195]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	13 January 2005	Estadio Centanario, Armenia, Colombia	Vénézuela	2–0	3–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
2.	15 January 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Bolivia	2–0	4–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
3.	15 January 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Bolivia	3–0	4–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
4.	21 January 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Peru	5–0	6–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
5.	6 February 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Brazil	2–1	2–1	2005 South American Youth Championship
6.	14 June 2005	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands	Egypt	1–0	2–0	2005 World Youth Championship
7.	22 June 2005	Univé Stadion, Emmen, Netherlands	Colombia	1–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
8.	24 June 2005	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands	Spain	3–1	3–1	2005 World Youth Championship
9.	28 June 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Brazil	1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
10.	2 July 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
11.	2 July 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	2–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship

Under–23[link]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	7 August 2008	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	Côte d'Ivoire	1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics
2.	16 August 2008	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	Netherlands	1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics

Senior team[link]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 March 2006	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Croatia	2–1	2–3	Friendly
2.	16 June 2006	WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	6–0	6–0	2006 World Cup
3.	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	2–2	4–3	Friendly
4.	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	4–2	4–3	Friendly
5.	8 July 2007	Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara, Barquisimeto, Venezuela	Peru	2–0	4–0	2007 Copa América
6.	11 July 2007	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Mexico	2–0	3–0	2007 Copa América
7.	16 October 2007	José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qualification
8.	20 November 2007	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia	1–0	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
9.	4 June 2008	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States	Mexico	2–0	4–1	Friendly
10.	11 October 2008	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Uruguay	1–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualification
11.	11 February 2009	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	France	2–0	2–0	Friendly
12.	28 March 2009	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
13.	14 November 2009	Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain	Spain	1–1	1–2	Friendly
14.	7 September 2010	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Spain	1–0	4–1	Friendly
15.	17 November 2010	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Brazil	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16.	9 February 2011	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Portugal	2–1	2–1	Friendly
17.	20 June 2011	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Albania	2–0	4–0	Friendly
18.	7 October 2011	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	2–0	4–1	2014 World Cup qualification
19.	15 November 2011	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Colombia	1–1	2–1	2014 World Cup qualification
20.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–0	3–1	Friendly
21.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	2–1	3–1	Friendly
22.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	3–1	3–1	Friendly

Career totals[link]

Honours[link]

Barcelona[link]

Winner

• La Liga (5): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Copa del Rey (2): 2008–09, 2011–12
• 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 (2): 2009, 2011

Runner-Up

• La Liga (2): 2006–07, 2011–12
• Copa del Rey (1): 2010–11
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 2006
• FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2006

Argentina[link]

Winner

• FIFA U-20 World Cup (1): 2005
• Olympic Gold Medal (1): 2008

Runner-Up

• Copa América (1): 2007

Individual[link]

Records[link]

• Most goals scored in a season in all competitions: 73 goals
• Most goals scored in a single league season: 50 goals
• Most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season: 14 goals
• Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8 hat-tricks
• Most UEFA Champions League hat-tricks: 3 hat-tricks
• Only player to score 2 hat-trick in a Champions League season
• Highest scorer in a single UEFA Champions League game: 5 goals
• Most UEFA Champions League top scorer award: 4 awards
• The only player to receive the UEFA Champions League top scorer award 4 years in a row
• Most La Liga home goals in a season: 35 goals
• Most consecutive league matches scored in: 10 matches
• Youngest player to score 150 league goals: 24 years and 270 days
• Most goals scored in the Supercopa de España: 8 goals
• Most goals scored in FIFA Club World Cup: 4 goals
• Fastest Barcelona hat-trick: completed in 17th minutes
• Barcelona Record Goalscorer: 253 goals
• Barcelona Record Goalscorer in UEFA Champions League: 51 goals
• Barcelona Record Goalscorer in European Competitions: 52 goals
• Barcelona Record Goalscorer in international Competitions: 56 goals

References[link]