Fédération Internationale de Football Association
Map of the members of FIFA according to their confederation
Abbreviation	FIFA
Motto	For the Game. For the World.
Formation	21 May 1904 (1904-05-21) (108 years ago)
Type	Federation of national associations
Headquarters	Zurich, Switzerland
Coordinates	47°22′53″N 8°34′28″E / 47.38139°N 8.57444°E / 47.38139; 8.57444
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	209 national associations
Official languages	English, French, German, Spanish[1]
President	Sepp Blatter (4th term)
Vice-President	Prince Ali
Affiliations	International Olympic Committee
Website	www.FIFA.com

FIFA headquarters

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (English: International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by the acronym FIFA (usual /ˈfiːfə/), is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer. Its membership comprises 209 national associations (the United Nations has 193 member states). Its headquarters are in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter. FIFA is responsible for the organisation of football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup.

History[link]

The need for a single body to oversee the game became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. FIFA was founded in Paris on 21 May 1904; the French name and acronym remain, even outside French-speaking countries. The founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain (represented by Madrid Football Club; the Spanish federation was not created until 1913), Sweden and Switzerland. Also, that same day, the German Association declared its intention of affiliating through a telegram.

The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin. Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by then a member association. The first tournament FIFA staged, the football competition for the 1908 Olympics in London was more successful than its Olympic predecessors, despite the presence of professional footballers, contrary to the founding principles of FIFA.

Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1908, Argentina and Chile in 1912, and Canada and the United States in 1913.

During World War I, with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited, there were few international fixtures, and the organisation's survival was in doubt. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation was run by Dutchman Carl Hirschmann. It was saved from extinction, but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations (of the United Kingdom), who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies. The Home Nations later resumed their membership.

The FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum in England.

Structure[link]

Map of the World with the six confederations: membership details below.

FIFA is an association established under the Laws of Switzerland. Its headquarters are in Zurich.

FIFA's supreme body is the FIFA Congress, an assembly made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. The Congress assembles in ordinary session once every year and, additionally, extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. Only the Congress can pass changes to FIFA's statutes.

Congress elects the President of FIFA, its General Secretary and the other members of FIFA's Executive Committee. The President and General Secretary are the main officeholders of FIFA, and are in charge of its daily administration, carried out by the General Secretariat, with its staff of approximately 280 members.

FIFA's Executive Committee, chaired by the President, is the main decision-making body of the organisation in the intervals of Congress. FIFA's worldwide organisational structure also consists of several other bodies, under authority of the Executive Committee or created by Congress as standing committees. Among those bodies are the Finance Committee, the Disciplinary Committee, the Referees Committee, etc.

Beside from its worldwide institutions (presidency, Executive Committee, Congress, etc.) there are six confederations recognised by FIFA which oversee the game in the different continents and regions of the world. National associations, and not the continental confederations, are members of FIFA. The continental confederations are provided for in FIFA's statutes, and membership of a confederation is a prerequisite to FIFA membership.

     AFC – Asian Football Confederation

Australia has been a member of the AFC since 2006

     Confederation of African Football

     CONCACAF – Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football

Guyana and Suriname are CONCACAF members although they are in South America, as are French Guiana and Guadeloupe despite not being members of FIFA.

     CONMEBOL – Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol

     OFC – Oceania Football Confederation

     UEFA – Union of European Football Associations

Teams representing transcontinental nations of Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan are UEFA members, although the majority of their territory is outside of continental Europe. Cyprus and Israel are also members for political reasons. Monaco, Vatican City, Gibraltar, Kosovo and Northern Cyprus are not members of UEFA or FIFA.

In total, FIFA recognises 209 national associations and their associated men's national teams as well as 129 women's national teams; see the list of national football teams and their respective country codes. FIFA has more member states than the UN, as FIFA recognises 23 non-sovereign entities as distinct nations, such as the four Home Nations within the United Kingdom or politically disputed territories such as Palestine.^[2] Only 8 sovereign entities don't belong to FIFA (Monaco, Vatican City, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Palau and Nauru).

The FIFA World Rankings are updated monthly and rank each team based on their performance in international competitions, qualifiers, and friendly matches. There is also a world ranking for women's football, updated four times a year.

The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of FIFA, and has met 66 times since 1904. Since 1998 the congress has been held annually. At the congress decisions are made relating to FIFA's governing statutes and their method of implication and application. The congress approves the annual report, and decides on the acceptance of new national associations and holds elections. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength. In the year following the FIFA World Cup, the President of FIFA is elected.^[3]

Recognitions and awards[link]

FIFA awards, each year, the title of FIFA World Player of the Year to the top men's and women's players of the year, as part of its annual awards ceremony which also recognises team and international football achievements.

In 1994 FIFA published the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team.

In 2002 FIFA announced the FIFA Dream Team, an all-time all-star team chosen by fans in a poll.

As part of its centennial celebrations in 2004, FIFA organised a "Match of the Century" between France and Brazil

Governance and game development[link]

The laws that govern football, known officially as the Laws of the Game, are not solely the responsibility of FIFA; they are maintained by a body called the International Football Association Board (IFAB). FIFA has members on its board (four representatives); the other four are provided by the football associations of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, who jointly established IFAB in 1882 and are recognised for the creation and history of the game. Changes to the Laws of the Game must be agreed by at least six of the eight delegates.

Discipline of national associations[link]

FIFA frequently takes active roles in the running of the sport and developing the game around the world. One of its sanctions is to suspend teams and associated members from international competition when a government interferes in the running of FIFA's associate member organisations or if the associate is not functioning properly.

A 2007 FIFA ruling that a player can be registered with a maximum of three clubs, and appear in official matches for a maximum of two, in a year measured from 1 July to 30 June has led to controversy, especially in those countries whose seasons cross that date barrier, as in the case of two former Ireland internationals. As a direct result of this controversy, FIFA modified this ruling the following year to accommodate transfers between leagues with out-of-phase seasons.

FIFA Anthem[link]

Since the 1994 FIFA World Cup, like the UEFA Champions League, FIFA has adopted an anthem composed by the German composer Franz Lambert. It has been recently re-arranged and produced by Rob May and Simon Hill. The FIFA Anthem is played at the beginning of official FIFA sanctioned matches and tournaments such as international friendlies, the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup, FIFA Futsal World Cup, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, FIFA Club Beach Soccer World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.^[4]

Since 2007, FIFA has also required most of its broadcast partners to use short sequences including the anthem at the beginning and end of FIFA event coverage, as well as for break bumpers, to help promote FIFA's sponsors. This emulates practices long used by some other international football events such as the UEFA Champions League. Exceptions may be made for specific events; for example, an original piece of African music was used for bumpers during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Allegations of corruption and legislative interference[link]

In May 2006 British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings' book Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging and Ticket Scandals (Harper Collins) caused controversy within the football world by detailing an alleged international cash-for-contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL, and revealed how some football officials have been urged to secretly repay the sweeteners they received. The book also alleged that vote-rigging had occurred in the fight for Sepp Blatter's continued control of FIFA.

Shortly after the release of Foul! a BBC television exposé by Jennings and BBC producer Roger Corke for the BBC news programme Panorama was broadcast. In this hour-long programme, screened on 11 June 2006, Jennings and the Panorama team agree that Sepp Blatter was being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribes pocketed by football officials.

All testimonies offered in the Panorama exposé were provided through a disguised voice, appearance, or both, save one; Mel Brennan, formerly a lecturer at Towson University in the United States (and from 2001–2003 Head of Special Projects for CONCACAF, a liaison to the e-FIFA project and a 2002 FIFA World Cup delegate), became the first high-level football insider to go public with substantial allegations of greed, corruption, nonfeasance and malfeasance by CONCACAF and FIFA leadership. During the Panorama exposé, Brennan—the highest-level African-American in the history of world football governance—joined Jennings, Trinidadian journalist Lisana Liburd and many others in exposing allegedly inappropriate allocations of money at CONCACAF, and drew connections between ostensible CONCACAF criminality and similar behaviours at FIFA. Since then, and in the light of fresh allegations of bribery and corruption and opaque action by FIFA in late 2010,^[5] both Jennings and Brennan remain highly critical of FIFA, with Brennan calling directly for an alternative to FIFA to be considered by the stakeholders of the sport throughout the world.^[6]

In a further Panorama documentary broadcast on BBC One on 29 November 2010, Jennings alleged that three senior FIFA officials, Nicolas Leoz, Issa Hayatou and Ricardo Teixeira, had been paid huge bribes by FIFA's marketing partner International Sports Leisure (ISL) between 1989 and 1999, which FIFA had failed to investigate. He claimed they appeared on a list of 175 bribes paid by ISL, totalling about $100 million. A former ISL executive said that there were suspicions within ISL that the company was only awarded the marketing contract for successive World Cups by paying bribes to FIFA officials. The programme also alleged that another current official, Jack Warner, has been repeatedly involved in reselling World Cup tickets to touts; Sepp Blatter said that FIFA had not investigated the allegation because it had not been told about it via 'official channels'.

The programme also criticized FIFA for allegedly requiring World Cup host bidding nations to agree to implement special laws for the World Cup, including blanket tax exemption for FIFA and sponsors, and limitation of workers' rights. It alleged that governments of bidding nations are required to keep the details of the required laws confidential during the bidding process; but that they were revealed by the Dutch government, which refused to agree to them, as a result of which it was told by FIFA that its bid could be adversely affected. According to the programme, following Jennings' earlier investigations he was banned from all FIFA press conferences, for reasons he says have not been made clear; and the accused officials failed to answer questions about his latest allegations, either verbally or by letter.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Andy Anson, head of England's World Cup bid, criticized the timing of the broadcast, three days before FIFA's decision on the host for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, on the grounds that it might damage England's bid; the voters included officials accused by the programme.^[7][8]

In June 2011, it came to light that the IOC had started inquiry proceedings against FIFA honourary president João Havelange into claims of bribery. The BBC Panorama programme alleged that the Brazilian accepted a $1 million 'bung' in 1997 from International Sports Leisure (ISL). The Olympic governing body said "the IOC takes all allegations of corruption very seriously and we would always ask for any evidence of wrongdoing involving any IOC members to be passed to our ethics commission".^[9]

2018 and 2022 World Cup bids[link]

FIFA's choice to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, has been widely criticised by media.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} It has been alleged that some FIFA inside sources insist that the Russian kickbacks of cash and gifts given to FIFA executive members were enough to secure the Russian 2018 bid weeks before the result was announced.^[15] Sepp Blatter was widely criticised in the media for giving a warning about the "evils of the media" in a speech to FIFA executive committee members shortly before they voted on the hosting of the 2018 world cup, a reference to the Sunday Times exposés^[16] and the Panorama investigation.^[17]

Two members of FIFA's executive committee were banned from all football-related activity in November 2010 for allegedly offering to sell their votes to undercover newspaper reporters. In early May 2011, a British parliamentary inquiry into why England failed to secure the 2018 finals was told by member of parliament, Damian Collins, that there was evidence from the Sunday Times newspaper that Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast were paid by Qatar. Qatar have categorically denied the allegations, as have Hayatou and Anouma.^[18]

FIFA President Blatter said, as of 23 May 2011, that British newspaper The Sunday Times has agreed to bring its whistle-blowing source to meet senior FIFA officials, who will decide whether to order a new investigation into alleged World Cup bidding corruption. "[The Sunday Times] are happy, they agreed that they will bring this whistleblower here to Zurich and then we will have a discussion, an investigation of this," Blatter said.

Specifically, the whistleblower claims that FIFA executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were paid $1.5 million to vote for Qatar.^[19][20] The emirate's bid beat the United States in a final round of voting last December. Blatter did not rule out reopening the 2022 vote if corruption could be proved, but urged taking the matter "step by step." The FIFA president said his organization is "anxiously awaiting" more evidence before asking its ethics committee to examine allegations made in Britain's parliament in early May, 2011. Qatar's success has been called into question since The Sunday Times submitted claims to a British lawmakers' inquiry into soccer governance, which included England's failed bid to win 2018 hosting rights. Lawmakers released claims by a former bid employee that Qatar agreed to pay members of FIFA's 24-man executive committee for their votes.

Hayatou, who is from Cameroon, leads the Confederation of African Football and is a FIFA vice president. Anouma is president of Ivorian Football Federation. The whistleblower said Qatar agreed to pay a third African voter, Amos Adamu, for his support. The Nigerian was later suspended from voting after a FIFA ethics court ruled he solicited bribes from undercover Sunday Times reporters posing as lobbyists. Blatter said the newspaper and its whistleblower would meet with FIFA secretary general, Jerome Valcke, and legal director, Marco Villiger.

Allegations against FIFA officials have also been made to the UK Parliament by David Triesman, the former head of England's bid and the English Football Association. Triesman told the lawmakers that four long-standing FIFA executive committee members—Jack Warner, Nicolas Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira and Worawi Makudi—engaged in "improper and unethical" conduct in the 2018 bidding, which was won by Russia. All six FIFA voters have denied wrongdoing.^[21]

2011 FIFA Presidential Election[link]

FIFA announced on 25 May 2011 that it had opened the investigation to examine the conduct of four officials—Mohamed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner, along with Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester—in relation to claims made by executive committee member, Chuck Blazer.^{[22][23][24][25]} Blazer, who is the general secretary of the CONCACAF federation, has alleged that violations were committed under the FIFA code of ethics during a meeting organized by Bin Hammam and Warner on 10 and 11 May—the same time Lord Triesman had accused Warner of demanding money for a World Cup 2018 vote—in relation to the 2011 FIFA presidential election,^[26] in which Bin Hammam, who also played a key role in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, allegedly offered financial incentives for votes cast in his favour during the presidential election. As a result of the investigation both Bin Hammam and Warner were suspended.^[27] Warner reacted to his suspension by questioning Blatter's conduct and adding that FIFA secretary general, Jerome Valcke, had told him via e-mail that Qatar had bought the 2022 World Cup.^[28][29] Valcke subsequently issued a statement denying he had suggested it was bribery, saying instead that the country had "used its financial muscle to lobby for support." Qatar officials denied any impropriety.^[30] Bin Hammam also responded by writing to FIFA, protesting unfair treatment in suspension by the FIFA Ethics Committee and FIFA administration.^[31]

Further evidence emerged of alleged corruption. On 30 May 2011, Fred Lunn, vice-president of the Bahamas Football Association, said that he was given $40,000 in cash^[32] as an incitement to vote for FIFA presidential candidate, Mohamed bin Hammam. In addition, on 11 June 2011 Louis Giskus, president of the Surinamese Football Association, alleged that he was given $40,000 in cash for "development projects" as an incentive to vote for Bin Hammam.^[33]

Response to allegations[link]

After being re-elected as President of FIFA Sepp Blatter responded to the allegations by promising to reform FIFA in wake of the bribery scandal, with Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, saying there is great expectation for reform.^[34] Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is being tipped for a role on the newly proposed 'Solutions Committee', and former Netherlands national football team player Johan Cruyff is also being linked with a role.^[29][35]

UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino said he hopes for "concrete" measures to be taken by the world game's authority. Saying that "the UEFA executive committee has taken note of the will of FIFA to take concrete and effective measures for good governance ... [and is] following the situation closely."^[36]

IOC president Jacques Rogge commented on the situation by saying that he believes FIFA "can emerge stronger" from its worst ever crisis, stating that "I will not point a finger and lecture ... I am sure FIFA can emerge stronger and from within".^[37]

Several of FIFA's partners and sponsors have raised concerns about the allegations of corruption, including Coca-Cola, Adidas, Emirates and Visa.^[38][39][40] Coca-Cola raised concerns by saying "the current allegations being raised are distressing and bad for the sport"; with Adidas saying "the negative tenor of the public debate around Fifa at the moment is neither good for football nor for Fifa and its partners"; moreover Emirates raised its concerns by saying "we hope that these issues will be resolved as soon as possible"; and Visa adding "the current situation is clearly not good for the game and we ask that Fifa take all necessary steps to resolve the concerns that have been raised."^[38]

Australian Sports Minister Mark Arbib said it was clear FIFA needed to change, saying "there is no doubt there needs to be reform of FIFA. This is something that we're hearing worldwide", with Australian Senator Nick Xenophon accusing FIFA of "scamming" the country out of the Aus$46 million (US$49 million) it spent on the Australia 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, saying that "until the investigation into FIFA has been completed, Australia must hold off spending any more taxpayers' money on any future World Cup bids."^[41]

Theo Zwanziger, President of the German Football Association, also called on FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar.^[42]

Transparency International, which had called on FIFA to postpone the election pending a full independent investigation, renewed its call on FIFA to change its governance structure.^[43]

Moreover, former Argentine football player Diego Maradona was critical of FIFA in light of the corruption scandal, comparing members of the board to dinosaurs. He said "Fifa is a big museum. They are dinosaurs who do not want to relinquish power. It's always going to be the same."^[44] In October 2011, Dick Pound criticized the organization, saying, "FIFA has fallen far short of a credible demonstration that it recognizes the many problems it faces, that it has the will to solve them, that it is willing to be transparent about what it is doing and what it finds, and that its conduct in the future will be such that the public can be confident in the governance of the sport."^[45]

Video replay controversy[link]

FIFA does not permit video evidence during matches, although it is permitted for subsequent sanctions.^[46] The 1970 meeting of the International Football Association Board "agreed to request the television authorities to refrain from any slow-motion play-back which reflected, or might reflect, adversely on any decision of the referee".^[47] In 2008, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said: "Let it be as it is and let's leave [football] with errors. The television companies will have the right to say [the referee] was right or wrong, but still the referee makes the decision – a man, not a machine."^[48]

It has been said that instant replay is needed given the difficulty of tracking the activities of 22 players on such a large field,^[49] and it has been proposed that instant replay be used in penalty incidents, fouls which lead to bookings or red cards and whether the ball has crossed the goal line, since those events are more likely than others to be game changing.^[50]

Critics also point out that instant replay is already in use in other sports, including rugby union, cricket, American football, Canadian football, basketball, baseball, tennis, and ice hockey.^{[49][51][52][53][54]} As one notable proponent of video replay, Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has been quoted as saying that the "credibility of the game" is at stake.^[55]

An incident during a second-round game in the 2010 FIFA World Cup between England and Germany, where a shot by Frank Lampard, which would have leveled the scores at 2–2, crossed the line but was not seen to do so by the match officials, led FIFA officials to declare that they will re-examine the use of goal-line technology.^[56]

FIFA structured tournaments[link]

Men's tournaments[link]

• FIFA World Cup
• FIFA Confederations Cup
• FIFA U-20 World Cup
• FIFA U-17 World Cup
• FIFA Club World Cup
• FIFA Futsal World Cup
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
• FIFA Club Beach Soccer World Cup
• Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup

Women's tournaments[link]

• FIFA Women's World Cup
• FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
• FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

Sponsors[link]

The following are the main ongoing sponsors of FIFA (named "FIFA Partners"):^[57]

• Adidas
• Coca-Cola
• Emirates
• Hyundai-Kia Motors
• Sony
• VISA

The FIFA World Cup has additional secondary sponsors, while individual tournaments normally have "National Supporters" which have sponsorship rights within the host country.

See also[link]

Association football portal

• List of FIFA Member Associations
• List of FIFA country codes
• List of Presidents of FIFA
• FIFA World Rankings
• FIFA Women's World Rankings
• 6+5 rule
• FIFA eligibility rules
• 61st FIFA Congress

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Paul Darby, Africa, Football and Fifa: Politics, Colonialism and Resistance (Sport in the Global Society), Frank Cass Publishers 2002, ISBN 0-7146-8029-X
• John Sugden, FIFA and the Contest For World Football, Polity Press 1998, ISBN 0-7456-1661-5
• Jim Trecker, Charles Miers, J. Brett Whitesell, ed., Women's Soccer: The Game and the Fifa World Cup, Universe 2000, Revised Edition, ISBN 0-7893-0527-5

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: FIFA

• Official FIFA website
• Document on alleged FIFA corruption
• FIFA Laws of the Game

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v t e International futsal FIFA World Rankings FIFA Futsal World Cup Grand Prix Confederations Cup Mediterranean Cup Asian Indoor Games Lusophony Games UMBRO Futsal Awards Teams Organizations Codes Asia AFC – Futsal Championship Africa CAF – Futsal Championship North America Central America and Caribbean CONCACAF – Futsal Championship South America CONMEBOL – Copa América Oceania OFC – Futsal Championship Europe UEFA – Futsal Championship AMF AMF World Cup Europe UEFS – UEFS Futsal Men's Championship – UEFS Futsal Women's Championship

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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.