Lionel Messi (commonly known as Leo Messi) will go down as one of the most amazing soccer players of all time. Not only has he won multiple personal awards and accolades for his athleticism, he also led the Argentina national team to a World Cup win in 2022. His legacy will obviously continue on with soccer fans for years to come, but there are some Lionel Messi facts that may be surprising to fans.
5 Lionel Messi Facts
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- Messi has won a world record of seven Ballon D’Or awards. (source) This award, granted by French magazine France Football in association with FIFA, is considered to be the most prestigious individual award that can be presented to a soccer player. Messi won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2021.
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- Messi has scored more goals for the Argentinian national soccer team than any player in history. (source) Messi has so far scored an astounding 103 goals for Argentina. This is astronomically higher than many other Argentinian legends like Sergio Agüero (41 goals), Diego Maradona (34 goals), and Ángel Di María (29 goals).
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- No soccer player in the world has won more trophies than Messi. (source) Messi has won 43 trophies so far in his career, including 10 La Liga trophies with Barcelona, 4 Champions League trophies with Barcelona, and 1 World Cup with Argentina. He is tied in trophies with his old Barcelona teammate Dani Alves.
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- Messi is the only player to win two FIFA World Cup Golden Ball awards. (source) The Golden Ball is awarded to the best player in the World Cup. Messi won it in both 2014 and 2022, which is the year Argentina won the World Cup.
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- Messi met his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, when he was just five years old. (source) Roccuzzo is the cousin of Messi’s childhood best friend. They met in their hometown of Rosario, Argentina and the two were married in Rosario in 2017.
What other fun facts about Leo Messi do you know?
Featured image photo credit: Nazionale Calcio, 2016. Originally found on Flickr. Image was resized and cropped. Creative Commons 2.0.
