Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Argentina national team. Lionel Messi ended the FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign as the winning captain, along with being the recipient of the Golden Ball award, conferred to the best player of the tournament. He also became the first player in FIFA World Cup history to win the Golden Ball twice. He won his first Golden Ball award in 2014 for guiding Argentina to the finals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where Argentina lost to Germany 1-0 in extra time. Often considered one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards and a record six European Golden Shoes. He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and six Copa del Rey titles. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (450), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (182). He has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and country.