Messi: the life of Argentina's World Champion in photos

This is how Lionel Messi started out, as a young boy dreaming of fame in his favorite sport.

On December 18, 2022, the greatest dream of his life and career came true: Messi won the World Cup with his native Argentina.

One of the most talented, famous, and highest-paid soccer players in the world, Messi had haunted this one, most important prize for years.
Let's take a look at photos of Messi's life and career in soccer.

The future football hero was born Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. His mother Celia worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop and his father Jorge was a steel factory manager.

Lionel Messi was born a year after Argentina won its second FIFA World Cup with Diego Maradona. One of the greatest players the world has ever known, Maradona would be an inspiration to Messi and, over time, come to hang as a shadow over his international career. Argentina never won another world cup after 1986... until 2022.

Messi started playing soccer at a very early age, in regular games with his older siblings and cousins. At the age of 4, he joined the local Grandoli club.

At the age of 6, Messi joined his favorite club Newell's Old Boys in Rosario, where he played for 6 years and accumulated a total of 500 goals.

In 2000, Leo Messi's relatives in Barcelona, Spain, arranged for him to show his talents to the city's team, FC Barcelona. One of the best soccer teams in the world, Barça was initially hesitant to sign him, because he was so young. Yet, they signed a contract with the 14-year-old and in January 2001 his family relocated to Barcelona.

The club pretty soon realized that they had signed an excellent deal with the young Argentinian player. After going through Barcelona's youth academy, Messi was registered as a professional in the Spanish football league in 2002. Shortly after that, he proved himself to be a golden player for Barça.

As a youth player, he was the top scorer with 30 goals for 30 games in his first season with the Cadetes A (2002-2003).

After he entered the highest selection of FC Barcelona in the 06/07 season, Messi won 24 national titles and 10 international titles with the club.

Among the victories achieved with Barcelona, there were 8 King's Cups (Copa del Rey), 7 Spanish Super Cups, and 10 Spanish league championships. In addition, Messi and his team had 4 victories in the UEFA Champions League and 3 European Super Cups.

Individually, Messi won the Golden Ball (Ballon d'Or), the highest honor for a football player, seven times.

Despite his success and fortune, Lionel Messi has the image of a humble and loyal man. He played with FC Barcelona for nearly his entire career.

Due to several contractual issues in combination with Spanish legislation, Messi was forced to leave the team in 2021, however. The tears he shed when announcing the news went around the world.

The day his departure became known, in August of 2021, marked a milestone in the history of soccer. It was the end of an era for the player and the team.

Since 2021, Messi has been playing with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), one of the richest clubs in the world, alongside superstars Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr. Striking fact: the club is owned by Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

After years of living in Barcelona, Messi took his wife and children with him to the neighboring country France.

He's been married to Antonella Roccuzzo, his childhood sweetheart from Rosario, since 2017. They have three children together. Antonella has become famous over time as an influencer on social media.

Let's go in time to look at Messi's achievements as an international for Argentina! He made his debut with the national team in 2006, at the World Cup in Germany. The young player was selected for three games and scored one goal. Argentina didn't get further than the quarter-finals that year.

In 2008, Messi won gold with his national team at the Beijing Olympics. He's posing here with teammate Sergio Aguero. Their performance at the Olympics and the rising star of Messi raised high hopes for Argentina in the following World Cup tournaments.

In 2010, with the legendary Maradona as a coach, the Argentinian national team was, once again, eliminated in the quarter-final. A strong German selection beat the Albicestes (or, the sky-blue-and-whites, as the Argentinians are endearingly called) with 4 goals to 0.

On top of that, Messi failed to make a single goal in the tournament. It was a great deception for the young player and the Argentinian fans.

And so came the World Cup Brazil 2014, which would be Messi's third global tournament. He scored 4 goals during the 4 games he played and his team was able to make it to the final.

But again, tragically, the team lost to Germany - just as it had in South Africa. With 1-0, the Germans denied Messi the trophy he so much desired.

With numerous prizes in Spain and Europe, plus several Ballons d'Or, Messi was really pressed to take two lasts hurdles: win the South American Championship and bring the World Cup home to Argentina at least once in his career.

In what would be his fourth World Cup, Russia 2018, Messi and his team unceremoniously left the scene in the round of 16, losing the first elimination match against France.

In 2022, Messi announced that he was participating in his national team's World Cup bid for the last time. At age 35, he did not expect to return to another tournament four years from now.

"It's my last World Cup. It surely is," he told ESPN. "I feel good, physically." In what could be his last chance of winning the coveted trophy, Messi said he arrived in Qatar "with a lot of attitude and a lot of hope."

With his first Copa Libertadores, the 2021 South American Championship, in the pocket, Messi and his team really seemed to have the momentum for a good 2022 World Cup run. Together with Brazil, they were the big favorites.

In an exhilarating World Cup final against reigning champion France and his equally strong PSG-teammate Kylian Mbappé, Messi and Argentina won the Cup with a 3-3 tie and a successful penalty showdown. A dream came true.

Soon enough, comparisons with legend Maradona were made.
Messi, one of the most successful players in history, could now finally crown his career with the long-desired World Cup win.