7 Incredible Messi PSG Moments of Legend Art of Football | 梅西在巴黎圣日耳曼7个传奇的时刻

Messi, an Argentine international, is the nation's all-time best scorer and holds the record for appearances. He won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship for youth players, taking home the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards as well as an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Games. His small, left-footed dribbling style of play attracted analogies to that of his countryman Diego Maradona, who referred to Messi as his heir.

After making his senior debut in August 2005, Messi went on to win the 2007 Copa América, where he was named the tournament's young player, and become the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup in 2006. Since August 2011, when he became the team's captain, he has guided Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2015 and 2016 Copa Américas, where he earned the Golden Ball in 2015, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball.

After declaring his international retirement in 2016, he then changed his mind and guided his nation to three victories: the 2021 Copa América victory and the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, the latter of which earned him the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards. With this accomplishment, he would be awarded a record-breaking seventh Ballon d'Or in 2021.

Since 2006, Messi has been an Adidas sportswear brand ambassador. He held the title of highest-paid footballer in the world for five out of the six years between 2009 and 2014, according to France Football, and was named the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2019 and 2022. [11] In 2011 and 2012, Messi was listed as one of Time's top 100 world influencers. He became the first football player and the first athlete from a team sport to win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award when he received it in February 2020. Later that year, Messi crossed the $1 billion mark in career earnings to become the second football player (and second athlete in a team sport).