When did messi start playing soccer ? When talking about football, the most attractive sport on the planet, no one is unaware of Lionel Messi. He is currently one of the greatest players of all time.

Instead of possessing a tall physique like many other players, this 1.69m tall player has extremely skilled skills, which helped him to receive 7 Golden Balls, 6 times win the European Golden Shoe and many other remarkable achievements.

When Did Messi Start Playing Soccer?

Lionel Messi began playing soccer in 1995 when he joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys. At the time, he was just an eight-year-old boy.

Messi’s skills have garnered the attention of famous clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. When he was 13 years old, he and his family relocated to Barcelona, and he started playing for the under-14 team of FC Barcelona.

This player has scored twenty-one goals in fourteen matches for the junior team, making him quickly graduate through the higher-level teams. At the age of 16, Messi was given his informal debut with FC Barcelona in one friendly match.

After that, his professional football career went as smoothly as the wind due to his talent.

How Many Goals Did Messi Score?

Lionel Messi will undoubtedly be a legend, comparable to Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, or Pele, right after he retires. In addition to his unique skill, the number of goals he has ever scored is also impressive.

When Did Messi Start Playing Soccer?

Lionel Messi, the maestro from Argentina, has etched his name in the record books of soccer history as one of the greatest players to have ever graced the sport.

With his mesmerizing skill, exceptional vision, and an innate ability to turn the impossible into reality, Messi’s impact on the game has been truly extraordinary.

From his early days at Barcelona to his recent ventures with Paris Saint-Germain, Messi’s illustrious career has been a testament to his unparalleled greatness.

Lionel Messi began playing soccer at a very young age, showing prodigious talent and a love for the sport from the start. At the tender age of five, Messi joined a local club called Grandoli, located in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina. It was here that his passion for the game and his exceptional skills started to emerge.

When Did Lionel Messi Start Playing Soccer?

From humble beginnings in Rosario to conquering the world in Barcelona and after, Messi has seen and lived through it all.

Even as a child he was obsessed with soccer and he was supported by his family in his pursuit of a career in the sport.

Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge Messi, and his grandmother, both played a crucial role in taking him to games, teaching him the basics of the game, and more.

Lionel Messi’s first soccer club

When he was a child, Lionel Messi’s family were supporters of a local club called Newell’s Old Boys. Messi joined the youth wing of the club as a 6-year-old and reportedly went on to score over 500 goals for them. He was a part of the youth team of the Newell’s Old Boys club which earned the name “The machine of ’87” on account of being nearly unbeatable.

Soccer fans over the years have amassed a massive collection of old videos of a little Leo Messi dribbling past his opponents to score goals. His style of play remains unchanged to this day. The Argentine soccer sensation signed for the Rosario Club and remained with the side for six years, before eventually moving to Barcelona.

After a few years at Newell’s, Messi was unfortunately diagnosed with a growth hormone disorder. The medical condition jeopardized young Leo’s lifelong dream of making it as a soccer player. To his relief, the disorder was treatable via medication. However, it turned out that Jorge Messi’s medical insurance could cover only a part of the expensive treatment. Treatment costs for this particular disorder easily racked up more than $1000 every month in those times.

Coming from humble beginnings, Messi’s family did not have the necessary resources to pay for his treatment. Newell’s Old Boys offered to pay for his treatment, although they backed out of the commitment later on.

One of the reasons why Barcelona was able to find and sign Messi was the sheer need of the Messi family to look elsewhere for a club that could sign him and would also pay for his treatment.

After scoring a goal in 2020 shortly after the demise of legendary soccer star Diego Maradona, Messi took off his shirt to reveal a Newell’s Old Boys jersey underneath his Barcelona Jersey, to honor the Argentine legend, who was also a former player of the Rosario club.

Messi’s career at FC Barcelona

Messi had family in Catalonia. As a result of the urgency to find a solution to the problem of growth hormone deficiency, and in the hopes that a big soccer club might be interested to cover the cost of the treatment on account of being impressed by Messi, a trial was arranged for young Leo Messi at Barcelona.

Charles Rexach, the then-first-team director for Barcelona, wanted to sign Messi as soon as he saw him play. However, matters were complicated when the Board of Directors hesitated as it was highly irregular to sign foreign players, that too, at such a young age, at that time.

Rexach knew what Barcelona would be missing out on and did not want to let the opportunity go. He drafted a contract on a napkin which was then signed by Messi.

Messi started by playing in Barcelona’s youth system, the La Masia, before being integrated into the first team a few years later.

It was only in 2004 that Messi got his first start for the senior team of Barcelona, against Espanyol. He was brought on as a substitute for Deco in the 82nd minute. As such, he became the youngest player to play for Barcelona’s senior side at just 17 years and 3 months of age.

Even though Messi had started a senior game in a club friendly against Portuguese side Porto a year before the game against Espanyol, friendlies are not counted to keep stats in professional soccer.

In his time at Barcelona, Messi would go on to become one of the greatest soccer players to ever kick a ball.

When did Messi play his first international game?

Lionel Messi’s first start for his country was not a memorable one.

After impressing at the under-20 level, Messi was called up to the senior national side. He made his debut in a friendly game against Hungary on 17th August 2005.

Messi would have to work hard to forget his debut as he received a red card on his very first appearance for the La Albiceleste.

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