See the stats: Lionel Messi’s staggering success
When you think of the best soccer player on the planet, a select few come to mind, and Lionel Messi is definitely on that list! He’s a goal-making machine, who has made his fourth World Cup appearance with Argentina this year. While he hasn’t delivered a showstopping Messi moment, fans are still rooting for the incredible player.
Leo Messi’s soccer career began when he was a teenager, at 13 years old, to be exact. He signed his first contract with FC Barcelona to play in its youth squad. Messi excelled in soccer from a young age, but struggled with a hormone deficiency that stunted his growth. The Spanish team paid for his treatments and soon, at just 17, he was rising the ranks to the top team.
The 31-year old soccer phenomenon has scored over 500 goals while playing for Barcelona and has taken home 30 trophies, including five Ballons d’Or for best player. Is it too soon to give Messi the GOAT title?
He also holds the record for the most goals on the Argentinian national team. He led the team to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and to the 2014 World Cup finals. But he still doesn’t have a World Cup in his trophy collection.
Messi is currently the highest-paid footballer in the world. He earned a massive $111 million paycheck that included his salary as a player on the FC Barcelona squad and his endorsements. He has a lifetime endorsement deal with Adidas. Yes, we said lifetime!
His social media presence is also massive. He has more than 94 million Instagram followers. Kylie Jenner has 110 million and Kim Kardashian has 113 million. Messi is clearly keeping up with these Insta queens.
The father of three stays connected with fans, sharing photos and video of his adorable kids cheering on their famous dad — too cute!
A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi) on May 29, 2018 at 8:21pm PDT
A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi) on Apr 1, 2018 at 6:14am PDT
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