50 INTERESTING AND UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT LIONEL MESSI

Get the best and most interesting
50 interesting facts about Lionel
Lionel Messi is arguably the best footballer in the world
at the moment. He is often compared to football
legends like Pele and Maradona and it won't be a
surprise if he overtakes  Here are 50
interesting facts about Lionel Messi.
1. His
full
name
is
Luis
Lionel Andres Messi.
2. Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario,
Argentina.
3. Messi shares his birthplace with the Argentinian
revolutionary Che Guevera.
4. His family is of middle-class Italian origin. His
father, Jorge, was a steelworker, and he also
coached the local youth football team.
5. Messi was not very healthy and nutritious in his
childhood days like the other boys around. He was
diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency which
was stopping his normal growth rate at a tender
age of 11. His parents could not afford his
treatment, which was $900 a month.
6. At the age of 17, he made his league debut against
RCD Espanyol and became the third youngest
person ever to play on Barcelona. At that time he
was also the youngest player to ever score for
Barcelona.
7. Messi's first contract with Barcelona was detailed
out on a paper napkin! FC Barcelona sporting
director Carles Rexach was so impressed with
Messi's skills that he wanted to make a contract
immediately and there was no paper available at
that time.
8. Barcelona was so impressed with Messi's footskills
that they offered to pay his medical bills and move
the family to Spain just to sign him when he was
13. That probably explains why the contract was
first signed on a napkin.
9. During the 2005-2006 season, Messi began being
paid as a first team member.
10. Messi holds two passports - Argentina's and
Spain's. He became a Spanish citizen in September
2005.
11. Lionel Messi also made his debut in the Spanish
First Division league. Out of his seventeen League
appearances he scored six goals. He scored one
goal in six for the Champions League.
/moreawesomewithfootball
12. His 2005 international debut lasted 47 seconds
when he received a red card after coming on as a
substitute.
13. He won an Olympic gold medal, along with the
Argentinian football team, at the 2008 Olympic
games in Beijing.
14. Messi inherited the No. 10 Barca jersey from
another great footballer Ronaldinho in the summer
of 2008.
Source: Wikipedia / Christopher Johnson
15. In 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World
Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by
winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and
then again in 2011 and 2012.
16. Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey,
five Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions
Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World
Cups.
17. Along with England's Vivian Woodward (who
accomplished the feat in the early 1900s), Messi is
the only player to have scored 25 goals in a
calendar year during international competition with
both his club and his country.
Source: Tumblr / puyols
18. He was offered a place in the national team by
Spain which he did not accept.
19. Messi is the sixth youngest soccer player to score
a goal in a World Cup games.
20. One of Lionel's nicknames is "The Flea" due to his
speed and agility.
21. Clearly, impressive soccer skills runs in his family.
Lionel's cousins Emanuel and Maxi Biancucchi
both play for solid clubs in South America, although
neither had made the leap to a premier club or
senior national team.
Source: Wikipedia / Laia
22. If for whatever reason, Barcelona decides to cancel
their contract with Lionel Messi, they will have to
cough up over $330 million for a breach in
contract.
23. Two of the musical genres that Messi enjoys
listening to are Samba and Cumbi.
24. Lionel Messi is the second richest soccer player in
the world with a net worth of $180 million. The
most wealthiest is Cristiano Ronaldo who is worth
$230 million.
25. Between his contract and endorsements, he makes
about $128,000 per day.
Source: Tumblr / cescfabregs
26. Messi has been featured on the covers of the Pro
Evolution Soccer 2009 and Pro Evolution Soccer
2011 video games. He and Fernando Torres are the
faces of the Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 video game
and helped out with the trailer and motion
capturing.
27. Messi is not only a great soccer player, but he's a
really good person. Messi is the founder of the
organization, Leo Messi Foundation, which helps
give children the best opportunities for education
and health care. His foundation, with the help of
Herbalife, helps to pay for medical treatment,
transportation and recuperation for children
diagnosed with major medical problems.
28. Messi is also the Goodwill Ambassador for
UNICEF.
Source: Tumblr / cescfabregs
29. He also works for people suffering from Fragile X
Syndrome (a disease related to autism).
30. On March 2013, Lionel Messi donated €600,000
($812,000) towards the refurbishment of a
children's hospital in his hometown of Rosario,
Argentina. The money was used to renovate the
oncology unit at the Victor J Vilela Children's
Hospital, as well as paying for doctors to travel to
Barcelona for training
31. His playing style and stature have drawn
comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who
himself declared Messi his "successor".
Source: Wikipedia/ Alexandr Mysyakin
32. Messi was was the first Argentinian ever to be
named FIFA World Player of the Year, not Diego
Maradona. However, this is due to a technicality
because the award was created in 1991, at which
point Maradona had begun his downward spiral
after he peaked in the 1986 World Cup.
33. Messi appeared in a 2012 television advert for
Japanese face wash Scalp-D.
34. In September 2012, Messi became the global brand
ambassador of Turkish Airlines. Messi shot a
commercial for the airline with NBA star Kobe
Bryant.
35. He has been dating his Argentine-born girlfriend
and mother of his child - Antonella Roccuzzo -
since 2009.
36. His son, Thiago, was born on November 2, 2012.
"Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son
was born and thanks to God for this gift!" he wrote
on his Facebook page.
Source: Tumblr / aaronjramseys
37. His infant son is already an official member of the
Newell's Old Boys' supporters club. When Messi's
son Thiago was just 72 hours old, Newell's Old
Boys which was Messi's original club, was first in
line and managed to sign the infant to a supporters
club contract.
38. Lionel Messi also had the boy's name and
handprints tattooed on his left calf.
39. Messi has also dated a hometown girl Macarena
Lemos and has also been linked to Luciana
Salazar, a model of Argentina.
Source: Tumblr / vamos-barcelona
40. Messi is a devout Roman Catholic and he met Pope
francis at the Vatican in 2013. "Without a doubt,
today was one of the most special days of my life.
We have to excel on and off the field," Messi said
about the meeting.
41. Lionel Messi is considered by most football experts
to be the best footballer of his generation.
Source: Tumblr / mandzukics
42. In September 2012, Messi became the global brand
ambassador of Turkish Airlines. Messi shot a
commercial for the airline with NBA star Kobe
Bryant.
43. Messi ranked second behind Neymar in SportsPro
magazine's 2013 list of the world's most
marketable athletes.
44. Messi is the first football player in history to win
four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won
consecutively, as well as the first to win three
European Golden Shoe awards
Source: Tumblr / cescfabregs
45. Lionel Messi is 5′ 7″ tall (1.69 metres).
46. Messi has been a very shy person right from his
childhood and this trait continues to until even now.
Apparently, it is very difficult to make him talk on
the phone. Most the important messages that have
to be delivered to him and received from him take
place through SMS.
Source: Tumblr / aaronjramseys
47. After scoring a goal, Messi typically celebrates in a
calm and composed manner by simply raising both
hands in the air. This gesture is to thank and pay
tribute to his grandmother who was very close to
him and passed away when he was 10. Messi
believes she is up there and watching her from
above and this is his way of showing that he would
always be grateful to her.
48. His favorite pastimes include relaxing with his
girlfriend and playing with his son, Thiago. He is
also an avid PlayStation player.
Source: Wikipedia / Darz Mol
49. Lionel Messi does not like to watch highlights of
himself.
50. Japanese jeweller Ginza Takana used a cast of
Messi's left foot to create a solid gold replica,
weighing 25 kilograms (55 lb), which went on sale
in Japan in March 2013 to raise funds for victims
of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. It was
valued at $5.25 million.
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