Lionel Messi reacts during the international friendly match between Argentina and Venezuela at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on March 22, 2019 in Madrid, Spain.
CNN
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Here’s a look back at the life of football player Lionel “Leo” Messi, who plays for the Argentina national team and Paris Saint-Germain.
date of birth: 24 June 1987
birth place: Rosario, Argentina
birth name: Lionel Andres Messi
Father: George Messi, factory worker
Mother: Messi by Celia Cuccitini
marriage: Antonella Roccuzzo (June 30, 2017-present)
children: Siro, Mateo and Thiago
As a young boy, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. At the age of 13, he signed with the football club Barcelona and moved to Spain. As part of the contract, FC Barcelona agreed to pay for Messi’s hormone treatment.
, the all-time leading scorer FC Barcelona and the Spanish football league La Liga.
Winner of the Ballon d’Or, or Footballer of the Year, a record seven times: a record four consecutive years (2009-2012) and again 2015, 2019 And 2021,
won european golden shoe Awarded six times: 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
1995-2000 – Plays for the local club team, Newells Old Boys in Rosario, Argentina.
2000-2003 – Signed with FC Barcelona and worked his way through Barca’s youth squads.
16 November 2003 – Makes his team debut as a replacement in a friendly match against FC Porto.
16 October 2004 – Makes his official debut for FC Barcelona against Espanyol. Barca won 1-0.
2007 – establishes Leo Messi Foundation, working to improve access to education and health care for children.
August 2008 – Argentine football leads the team to a gold medal summer Olympics in Beijing.
11 March 2010 – Messi has been announced as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
2011-2012 season – Sets the all-time record for most goals scored in a season for a major European football league, with 73 goals.
June 2013 – Prosecutors in Barcelona filed tax fraud charges against Messi and his father for the period between 2007 and 2009. The complaint alleges that Messi and his father sought to manage the player’s lucrative income from image rights through shell companies, aiming to reduce his Spanish tax bill. established overseas. Messi has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
25 June 2013 – Prosecutors in Barcelona told CNN that Messi paid €10 million ($13 million) in taxes to cover the tax period 2010–2011, but efforts to prosecute him for alleged tax fraud from 2007 to 2009 are still ongoing.
August 14, 2013 – Messi and his father, Jorge Messi, €5 million. pay “reimbursement” of ($6.6 million) to Spanish authorities for allegedly committing tax fraud between 2007 and 2009.
September 27, 2013 – Messi and his father testify in Barcelona court at preliminary hearing On charges he defrauded Spanish tax authorities of more than $5 million.
16 March 2014 – Scores a hat-trick (three goals during a game) to become FC Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 371 goals, eclipsing the record set by Paulino Alcantara, who scored 369 goals.
May 2014 – Signed a new contract with FC Barcelona for an annual net worth of €20 million ($27 million).
June 2014 – A Spanish state prosecutor asked the judge to drop the tax fraud charges against Messi, but not his father.
13 July 2014 – Messi wins Golden Ball award for best player world Cup Tournament.
28 July 2014 – A judge rules that the tax fraud case against Messi and his father will go ahead, while Spain’s public prosecutor in June requested the charges against Messi be dropped.
22 November 2014 – Messi scored a hat-trick To become the all-time leading goalscorer of the Spanish league with 253 goals, surpassing Telmo Zara’s previous record of 251 goals.
8 October 2015 – A Spanish court has ruled that Messi and his father will face charges of tax fraud.
31 May 2016 – A tax fraud trial begins for Messi and his father.
27 June 2016 – Says he’ll probably retire From international football after Argentina’s loss on penalties to Chile in the Copa America final.
6 July 2016 – A Barcelona court fined Messi €2 million ($2.3 million) and sentenced him to 21 months in prison for tax fraud. In July 2017, Spanish courts commuted Messi’s prison sentence to an additional €252,000 ($287,000) fine.
12 August 2016 – Messi announces that he will play for Argentina Once again, in June it was said that he would retire from international football.
July 5, 2017 – Barcelona and Messi announce contract extension Which will keep Messi in Barcelona until June 30, 2021, and is reportedly priced at €565,000 ($645,000) per week.
13 January 2019 – Scored his 400th Spanish league goal in his 435th appearance, extending his record as La Liga’s all-time top scorer. Messi is the first player to score 400 times in any of the “Big Five” leagues in Europe.
2 August 2019 – Messi has been banned from all competitions for three months and fined $50,000 CONMEBOL Disciplinary Court. punishment comes later Messi accused South American football’s governing body of corruption, suggesting that hosts Brazil’s favor in the 2019 Copa America was rigged.
5 August 2021 – Messi is leaving FC BarcelonaAccording to a statement from the club.
August 10, 2021 – French club Paris Saint-Germain announced Signing Messi on a two-year contract with the option of an extension for a third year.
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