Lionel Messi turns 34: Lesser-known facts about the star Argentina footballer

Lionel Messi, regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, turns 34 on Wednesday. From the highest individual award for a footballer to the highest trophy in club football, he has won them all. He has over 140 caps for Argentina and over 800 appearances for Barcelona.

Here are a few lesser-known facts about Lionel Messi:

• With a dual Argentine-Spanish nationality, Messi was eligible to play for the national teams of both countries. But he chose to play for his birth country Argentina.

• Messi’s debut for Argentina against Hungary lasted less than a minute. Within a minute after coming on to the field, he was shown the red card for a foul.

• In 2020, Messi became the first footballer and a team sport player to win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.

• Messi was diagnosed with a career-threatening growth hormone deficiency at the age of 10. 
• Messi won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Also read | Lionel Messi gets angry at teammates during Argentina vs Uruguay | Watch

Here are a few standout statistics from Messi’s career:

• He has received Ballon d’Or, the highest individual award in football, six times — the most for any footballer. He received the award in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2015-16, 2019-20.
• In June 2016, he surpassed Gabriel Batistuta to become the all-time top scorer of Argentina.
• He achieved the Guinness World Record for scoring the most number of goals in a calendar year with 91 goals in 2012. He surpassed Gerd Muller’s record of 85 goals, a record that stood for 40 years.
• He has eight hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League, the most for any player in the competition along with Cristiano Ronaldo.
• He has over 750 career goals for club and country. He also holds the record for most goals scored for a single club with 683 goals for Barcelona.