Messi played his first professional match at 16 years old on 16 November 2003 against Porto. He played the 2003-04 season with the Barcelona B team. He was promoted to the A team for the 2004-05 season, and made his league debut on 16 October 2004 against Espanyol as a substitute. He made his league debut at age 17, and became the youngest player to play for Barcelona's first team in an official competition. He scored his first professional goal on 1 May 2005 against Albacete Balompie from a sublime assist by Ronaldinho. The goal made him the youngest-ever scorer for the club at that time. Barcelona won the La Liga that season for the first time in 6 years, and won the league for a second time in a row along with the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2006. Additionally, he is the first athlete to receive three European Golden Shoes. On February 16, 2013, Messi took the field for Barcelona. His 300th goal was scored. In Spanish La Liga, he is the only player with 300 goals. Argentina reached the World Cup final in 2014, thanks to his captaincy. He received the honour of the Golden Ball in recognition of his outstanding achievement. At 35, the Argentina forward has won almost every accolade in the game. He has won the Ballon d'Or - awarded to the world's best player - a record seven times and also won the Fifa Best Men's Player award once. Inter Miami immediately benefitted on and off the field from Messi’s presence. The team went on a 12-match winning streak and captured the Leagues Cup, an annual tournament between teams from the MLS and Liga MX. Messi wound up scoring 11 goals in 14 games with the club. However, with Messi injured late in the season, Inter Miami went winless in seven straight and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

On top of that, Barca ended up securing the first sextuple in soccer history: Champions League, LaLiga, Copa del Rey, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Spanish Super Cup. However, the best was yet to come. Lionel Messi to join Inter Miami after leaving Paris St-Germain". BBC Sport . Retrieved 9 June 2023. The Best named at FIFA Football Awards". FIFA. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018 . Retrieved 12 January 2017.

Barcelona had heard about Messi and his battle. Someone informed FC Barcelona director Carles Rexach about his unbeatable talent in football. Then he added a stipulation that only applied if this guy proved to be talented. Therefore, all of his costs will be covered. He must, however, depart Argentina and travel to Spain. Messi's parents relocated to Barcelona. UEFA Team of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 [36] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67] I do not care about the Golden Ball. I am just upset by the wasted chances. We had the best chances. We knew we could not dominate the game but we knew what we wanted to do. Right now I do not care about my prize. I just wanted to lift the cup and bring it to Argentina. The pain is very great.” The FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11 of 2019-2020 - FIFPRO World Players' Union". FIFPRO. 2020-12-17 . Retrieved 2020-12-18. In a comprehensive new one-hour film for the BBC, a host of his former team-mates and players who have faced him, as well as journalists who have covered him, delve deep into the enigma that is Messi.

He However won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Player of the year in 2009, at the age of 22. That season Messi had a successful campaign, winning the second consecutive La Liga title. Team of the Year 2015: Lionel Messi". UEFA. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016 . Retrieved 8 January 2016.Messi steered Barcelona to a wealth of success, most notably in 2009, when the left-footer’s team captured the Champions League, La Liga, and Spanish Super Cup titles. That same year, after two consecutive runner-up finishes, he took home his first FIFA World Player of the Year honor, as well as his first Ballon d’Or award, the top European individual honor in football. After a disappointing first game, when Argentina unexpectedly lost to Saudi Arabia, Lionel Messi was key to firing Argentina to a 2-0 victory over Mexico, with Messi scoring an excellent goal. If Messi has lost something of his speed and top level fitness, he remains just as potent in front of the goal, with the capacity to make match winning contributions. The goal took him to 8 world cup goals, 2nd overall and level with Diego Maradona.

The record seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has conquered nearly every piece of football real estate there is to claim over the course of his illustrious football career. BeIN Sports: Messi habría rechazado el MVP del torneo"[BeIN Sports: Messi reportedly rejects MVP award for tournament] (in Spanish). AS.com. 5 July 2015 . Retrieved 5 July 2015. In the mid-year of 2022, Messi and the Argentina team along with Lionel Scaloni beat Italy 3-0 and won the Finalissma trophy. During the 2010–11 season Messi led Barcelona to La Liga and Champions League titles. He became the first player to win a third straight world player of the year award. In March 2012, at the age of 24, he scored his 233rd goal. This made him Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer in La Liga play. Messi went on to break a 39-year-old major European football league record when he finished the 2011–12 season with 73 goals in all competitions. This performance led to him being the first player to ever win a fourth world player of the year award.Lionel Messi named Best Striker in La Liga Santander 2015–16". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019 . Retrieved 25 October 2016. Other honours include four Champions League triumphs, 11 top-flight titles and Copa America glory in 2021. The World Cup is the only glaring omission. To be fair, no other team could match what Barcelona did under Pep Guardiola. Regardless, Messi was made a scapegoat for Argentina’s failures in those years. He had blossomed as a Ballon d’Or player at Barcelona, but he couldn’t carry his level to the international stage. In 2009, Barcelona won 2-0 with Messi scoring a brilliant header for their second. Ferdinand had missed the looping cross from Xavi.