Lionel Messi scored his first official goal for Barcelona on May 1, 2005, at the age of 17.

Messi made his debut for the Argentina national team in August 2005 as a substitute against Hungary.

He won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the Argentine national team.

Messi broke Barcelona's goal-scoring record in 2012, surpassing Cesar Rodriguez's record of 232 goals.

He holds the record for the most goals scored in a single league, with 474 goals in La Liga.

[{"selector":"#anim-cfd46292-a494-4545-8c01-0850d6c66e2b","keyframes":[{"offset":0,"transform":"translate3d(0, -269.70491%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.29,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.45,"transform":"translate3d(0, -75.841020692%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.61,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.71,"transform":"translate3d(0, -25.783789396%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.8,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.85,"transform":"translate3d(0, -9.682406269%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.92,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.96,"transform":"translate3d(0, -4.207396596%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":1,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"}],"delay":0,"duration":600,"fill":"both"}]

Messi set the record for the most goals scored in a calendar year, scoring 91 goals in 2012.

He has scored the most goals for a single team, with 672 goals for Barcelona.

[{"selector":"#anim-0cd6c749-849f-4beb-a400-6a22465542e1","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(100.73350%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.2, 0, .8, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f3348189-e0b1-48e8-aac3-cb6afd240666","keyframes":{"transform":["rotateZ(180deg)","rotateZ(0deg)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.2, 0, .5, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

Messi is the only player to have won two Golden Ball awards at the World Cup, in 2014 and 2022.

[{"selector":"#anim-b9738ffd-f107-4cf0-9371-95c57aa7d53d","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}]

Messi led Argentina to win the FIFA World Cup in 2022, securing their third title by defeating France in the final.

[{"selector":"#anim-5cef897e-1ad0-4cea-b841-431a3abd813d","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1)","none"],"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"fill":"both","iterations":1}]