In Rosario, Argentina, where Lionel Messi was born on June 24, 1987, he is not only famous for his football skills while growing up. He is also known as the boy who suffered a growth deficiency that made him smaller than his contemporaries and almost ruined his professional football dreams.
Despite the deficiency, he chose football and started the journey to becoming one of the greatest in football history in 1995 at Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, the largest city in the central Argentina province of Santa Fe.
At age 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone disorder that restricted his growth and made him smaller than most kids in his age group. Messi’s parents, Jorge and Celia, placed him on a regimen of growth hormone injections, but continuing with the medication soon proved impossible as payment ran into hundreds of dollars monthly. According to Bleacher Report, the treatment cost $900 monthly.
Argentine clubs like River Plate and Old Boys, who had initially shown interest in having him on their teams, weren’t ready to shell out the funds required for his treatment until Barcelona showed up in 2000 when he was 13.
Barcelona offered the youngster the chance to train at La Masia, its youth academy, and took over his medical bills. And that was how he moved to Spain, where he has spent more than two decades of his life and football career.
Twenty years on, the decision turned out to be the best for him. When Messi was diagnosed, he was only 4’2″. He is now listed at 5’7″ by Barcelona. Pundits believe Barcelona’s investment and confidence motivate his loyalty to the La Liga club for more than 20 years. He has never played for any football club besides Barcelona since moving to Spain from Argentina in 2000. He has turned down several offers during that period.
Since making his debut for Barcelona on October 16, 2004, he has made 778 appearances, scored 672 goals and made 288 assists, the highest in the club’s history. He has won 10 La Liga, four Champions League, seven Copa del Rey, three Club World Cup, three European Super Cup, eight Spanish Cup, one Under-20 World Cup, one Olympic Gold Medal.
Now that he has led the Argentina team to win the Copa America in July 2021, the only trophy he’s yet to lift is the FIFA World Cup. The closest he came to lifting the FIFA World Cup was in 2014 when he led Argentina to the final against Germany. Though they lost, he was named player of the tournament.
His stats:
Most FIFA World Player of the Year/Best FIFA Men’s Player Awards: 6 (2009–2012, 2015, 2019)
Most Ballons d’Or: 6 (2009–2012, 2015, 2019)
Most consecutive Ballons d’Or: 4 (2009–2012)
Youngest two-time, three-time, four-time, five-time and six-time Ballon d’Or winner: 23, 24, 25, 28 and 32 years old
The most significant gap between the first and last Ballon d’Or awards: 10 years (2009, 2019)
Guinness World Record as top goalscorer for club and country in a calendar year: 91 goals in 2012
Most goals in a calendar year (including club friendlies): 96 goals in 2012
Top goalscorer in all club competitions in a calendar year: 79 goals in 2012
Top goalscorer in a club season: 73 goals in 2011–12
Longest goalscoring run in a domestic league: 21 matches, 33 goals in 2012–13
The only player to have won more than one FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball
The only player to have won more than one FIFA Club World Cup Final Most Valuable Player award
The only player to score more than 40 goals in 10 consecutive seasons
Most ‘Man of the Match’ awards won in one FIFA World Cup: 4, in 2014
The only player to score in his teens, twenties, and thirties in World Cup history.
Only a GOAT could have achieved all these feats at just 34. Talking about a GOAT, only Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could claim such appellation in modern football for more than a decade. No one else comes close. Their unrivalled individual excellence has seen them take turns to win Net Honours Most Popular Foreign Celebrity – Male in two years.
Lionel Messi beat Lee Min Ho and others to win this year’s edition of the NET Honours Most Popular Foreign Celebrity – Male.
Written by Michael Orodare
