Question: Who is Lionel Messi?
Answer: The undisputed best soccer player in the world.
Messi became Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer when he surpassed Cesar Rodriguez's haul of 235 goals against Granada in March 2012, and is already considered Barcelona's best ever player. Just a few months earlier, in October 2011, Messi had superseded the Hungarian legend Ladislao Kubala by notching his 195th and 196th goals in the 3-0 win over Racing Santander at Camp Nou.
Watch Lionel Messi’s first 200 goals here
Messi became Barca’s second top scorer on the seventh anniversary of his Barcelona debut against Espanyol, aged just 17 years and 114 days. His star continues to rise and he is on a different level from any other soccer player in the world.
Find out more about his career in this Lionel Messi profile
One of those players who continues to trail in his wake is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid star is a magnificent physical specimen and goalscorer in his own right, but cannot claim to impact as many games in a domestic season. The beauty of Messi, a far more shy and retiring character, is that even when he is not scoring or setting up team-mates, he is making a decisive contribution. His ability to dribble through defenses and play deft slide-rule passes are two of the most thrilling sights in world soccer.
Ronaldo, nevertheless, is generally considered the second best soccer player in the world, and his battle with Messi at the top of La Liga’s goalscoring charts since arriving from Manchester United in 2009 provides an intriguing subplot.
Predominantly left-footed, Messi has scored in two Champions League finals and is a treble FIFA World Player of the Year. He is also responsible for one of the best goals since the turn of the century; the effort against Getafe in 2007 that conjured up memories of Diego Maradona’s goal for Argentina at the 1986 World Cup.
Learn all about Messi and the key moments in his career
Messi is already among the record Champions League scorers in the history of the competition. It seems inevitable that before long he will take over second spot from Ruud van Nistelrooy, but has a long way to go before matching Raul’s magnificent haul.
Record Champions League Scorers
It should not be forgotten that Messi overcame adversity when starting out. Between 2006 and 2008, he lost nearly 11 months of his career - eight to hamstring problems and three to a broken metatarsal. He did not feature in the 2006 Champions League final victory over Arsenal.
Muscle problems were frequent in Messi’s early career, and the club urged the player to refine his diet, cutting down on Coca-Cola and steak and introducing more pasta based meals.
Pep Guardiola's decision to offload the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco in 2008 was also crucial in Messi’s development. There was a period when Ronaldinho would encourage the youngster to go out on the town with Deco and Thiago Motta, and for a while Messi was confused. Guardiola put a stop to that by weeding out the bad influences.
Having already suffered from a growth hormone deficiency in his teenage years – Barcelona paid the medical bills on the condition that he moved to Camp Nou from Newell’s Old Boys in 2000 – the road to success has by no means been straight forward for La Pulga Atomica (The Atomic Flea).
