9781422270745

BRILLIANT FOR BARCELONA During his marvelous career with Barcelona, a stretch of sensational soccer that isn’t likely to ever be matched, Messi led the club to a whopping 10 La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey titles, and four Champions League titles. On the international stage, competing for his beloved Argentina, Messi led the team to an Olympic Gold Medal in 2008 in Beijing, China; a Copa America title in 2021; and he took them all the way to the World Cup finals in 2022, where Argentina defeated France to become world champions. A savage ball-striker whose shots are explosive and notoriously well placed, coupled with potent passing skills that routinely present teammates with gorgeous scoring opportunities (he has collected more than 200 assists during his career), Messi is a one man wrecking crew who sabotages opponents’ game plans and poses a heap of trouble for defenders who have the impossible task of keeping him from doing something special. Explosive and unpredictable, Messi pulls fans out of their seats with his greatness and forces broadcasters to scramble to somehow come up with words to describe his latest fantastic feat. ONE OF A KIND A global giant both on and off the pitch—Messi has more Instagram followers than Kim Kardashian and more than twice as many as LeBron James—he was also the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2022, raking in an estimated $130 million in salary and endorsement money. Joining French Ligue 1 powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and heading to his fifth World Cup with Argentina in the fall of 2022, Lionel Messi continues to add to his glowing legacy and stash of untouchable records that go with being arguably the greatest ever to play the game.

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi