Lionel Messi, in full Lionel Andrés Messi, also called Leo Messi, (born June 24, 1987, Rosario, Argentina), Argentine-born football (soccer) player who was named Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) world player of the year six times (2009–12, 2015, and 2019). Messi started playing football as a boy and in 1995 joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys (a Rosario-based top-division football club). Messi’s phenomenal skills garnered the attention of prestigious clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. At age 13 Messi and his family relocated to Barcelona, and he began playing for FC Barcelona’s under-14 team. He scored