Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona. Often considered the best player in the world and rated by many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only football player in history to win five FIFA Ballons d'Or, four of which he won consecutively, and the first player to win three European Golden Shoes. With Barcelona he has won eight...
NationalityArgentinian
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth24 June 1987
CitySanta Fe, Argentina
Being named among the best is special and beautiful. But if there are no titles, nothing is won.
One of the Arsenal players came up to me afterwards and said it had been an honor to be on the same pitch as me. I thought, My God, that is a great thing to say when your team has just lost.
I go out and do the best I can in each game, and I don't think about the fouls other players will commit or whether I might be injured. It only does you harm to worry about those things.
The Barcelona youth program is one of the best in the world. As a kid, they teach you not to play to win, but to grow in ability as a player.
My family was always present when I needed them and sometimes felt even stronger emotions than me.
You have got to love the game.
I still have a lot of room for improvement. For example, I want to shoot equally well with both feet.
I know how important it is to have a helping hand. In my childhood I had difficult times because of hormonal problems. If I hadn't had support, I wouldn't have been able to fulfill my dreams.
In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision.
Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win.
I never think about the play or visualize anything. I do what comes to me at that moment. Instinct. It has always been that way.
I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I'm not enjoying it, I will leave football.
It takes sacrifice as well as talent.
The truth is my idea has been to always stay at Barcelona and see out the rest of my career here. Like I always say, one doesn't know what can happen in the future, but if it were up to me to decide, I would stay at Barcelona for the rest of my career.