Lionel Messi’s current team is Inter Miami after the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner secured his move to Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. Messi has earlier played for FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) while he has represented the Argentina national football team throughout his career.
Lionel Messi is one of the greatest players of all time and as such, any team would be glad to have him. Over the course of his 19-year-long career, Messi has consistently been among the best players in the world and has achieved a significant collection of individual and team trophies.
Also Read: How many trophies has Lionel Messi won
Despite his prolific status, Messi has only played for three clubs in his career so far. He has spent the majority of his career with Barcelona before a shock move to PSG. After two years in Paris, Messi now finds himself in Miami, ready to play for David Beckham’s Inter Miami CF.
Lionel Messi’s teams: Appearances and Stats
| Club | Period | Matches | Goals |
| FC Barcelona | 2000-2021 | 778 | 672 |
| Paris Saint Germain | 2021-2023 | 75 | 32 |
| Inter Miami | 2023 – | – | – |
| Argentina | 2005 – | 175 | 103 |
Lionel Messi youth teams – Grandoli, Newell’s Old Boys and Barcelona
Lionel Messi was born in the city of Rosario, Santa Fe in Argentina. He grew up in a football-loving family and was introduced to the sport early on in his life. He used to play with his elder brothers and cousins while growing up on the streets of Rosario.
At the age of five, he joined his local neighbourhood football club called Grandoli where his father often worked as a part-time coach. Messi has also acknowledged the importance of his grandmother in his pursuit of football and that is why he points to the skies after scoring a goal in order to pay tribute to his grandmother Celia Cuccittini.
“One of my brothers or cousins was playing and we used to go there (to the Grandoli club) every day. The ‘86 team’, a team one year older than me, was playing and they needed a player — so my grandmother told the coach ‘put him [Leo] in the team’,” Lionel Messi reminisced during an interview.
“Apparently when I went in, I did some things. My grandmother came back and told him [the coach], ‘Buy him football boots, I’ll bring him to training next week’ – and that’s when I started. It was an amazing time,” he further recalled.
After spending his formative four years with Grandoli, Messi then decided to join Newell’s Old Boys which is one of the biggest clubs in Rosario and played in the Argentine Primera Division. The Messi family was also supporters of Newell’s Old Boys and he was inducted into the team that came to be known as the Machine of 87.
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The group of boys, who were all born in 1987 and led by Messi’s brilliant talents, would go on to dominate the youth scene in Argentina – seven-a-side game for Under 11 children and the Machine of 87 remained unbeaten for three years!
It was at Newell’s Old Boys where it was first discovered that Messi had a growth hormone deficiency. Newell’s couldn’t afford the expensive treatment and without it, Messi wouldn’t have attained his eventual physique and stature. One of Argentina’s biggest clubs, River Plate, were also interested in signing the young Messi but backed out because of the expense of the treatment.
Lionel Messi at Barcelona
It was during his time of need that Messi discovered help from an extremely unlikely source. Across the Atlantic ocean, in Spain, Messi had caught the eye of Barcelona’s scouts. The Spanish club were more than happy to foot the bill for his treatment as long as he signed for their youth setup in La Masia and at age 13, in the year 2000, Messi moved to Spain to pursue his dream.
Thanks to his prodigious talent, he was fast-tracked to the senior teams after just four years in the youth academy and barely appearing for the Barcelona B and C sides. It was Frank Rijkaard who handed him his debut for Barcelona in a friendly in 2003 and he made his official debut in October, 2004, becoming the then-youngest player to play for the Catalan club.
The rest, as they say it, is history. Messi won every single trophy with the Barcelona side and they wrote history together. He has played 778 matches for the Catalan club (a record in Barcelona’s history) and is the leading goal-scorer in Spain with 672 goals.
Messi has won the treble twice with the club – under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. He has won 10 La Ligas with Barcelona and has won four Champions Leagues with them. All seven of Messi’s Ballon d’Ors also came thanks to his contributions in a Barcelona shirt and he holds several La Liga records.
Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain
For a long time it seemed that Messi would end his career with Barcelona and the player had even spoken about wanting to do that in various interviews. However, in a move that shocked the world, Messi had to leave Barcelona in August 2021 after the cash-deprived club revealed that they couldn’t renew and register his new contract in order to fit La Liga’s economic demands.
Also Read: Why did Messi leave Barcelona?
A heartbroken Messi had to join Paris Saint-Germain instead, joining forces with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in attack. He made his debut for the Parisians on August 29 and came on as a second-half substitute. Messi spent two years with PSG, winning the Ligue 1 on both occasions. However, he failed to guide them to their first-ever Champions League trophy and got knocked out of the competition in both seasons.
Lionel Messi with Argentina National Team
Lionel Messi has had a long and roller-coaster of an international career with Argentina. When he first burst on to the international scene, he was viewed as the obvious successor to the legendary Diego Maradona. Messi had won the 2008 Olympics gold medal in Beijing with the national team and even won the U20 World Cup in 2005.
However, for the greater part of the next decade, Messi’s career with Argentina would mostly be known for his struggles. He failed to win the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and lost the final against Germany in Rio de Janeiro. Messi also finished as runner-up in the Copa America on three occasions in 2007, 2015, and 2016.
After a brief decision to retire from the national side, he returned after a few months. Things would change for him and Argentina following the appointment of his former national teammate Lionel Scaloni as the manager.
Messi finally broke his jinx with the national side by winning the Copa America in Brazil in 2021, beating hosts and arch-rivals Brazil in the final at the Maracana Stadium. La Albiceleste then won the Finalissima by defeating European champions Italy before winning the big prize – the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Messi led from the front as usual and finished the tournament as the best player, winning the Golden Ball and the second-highest goal-scorer.
He finished his life-long dream of winning the World Cup as Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties on 18th December, 2022 after a 3-3 draw. Messi scored a brace in the final while Angel Di Maria also found the back of the net.
Also Read: Messi international goals
Lionel Messi holds the record for playing the most matches for Argentina and also scoring the most goals in La Albiceleste’s history.
Lionel Messi signs for Inter Miami
Lionel Messi has managed to shock the world once again after announcing that he was going to move to Inter Miami CF this year. Messi made the decision after his two-year contract with PSG came to an end. Although he had offers from European clubs on the table and Barcelona were extremely interested in bringing him back for a last dance, Messi revealed that he wanted to spend the last years of his career enjoying playing football without much pressure that usually follows in European football.
Messi is also set to be joined by his former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at Inter Miami while former friends Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta are also rumoured to join him there.
Messi is reported set to earn between $50m (£38m) and $60m annually – putting the total contract value between $125m and $150m in cash alone. He had reportedly rejected a deal worth approximately $400m from Saudi Arabia. At Inter Miami, Messi may also be handed the option for the ownership of an MLS team, similar to David Beckham’s contract with LA Galaxy when he signed for them 16 years ago. It was that option that allowed him to form and own Inter Miami along with American businessman Jorge Mas.
FAQs
When is Lionel Messi’s birthday?
Lionel Messi celebrates his birthday on June 24 every single year. He was born in 1987.
What is Lionel Messi’s net worth?
Lionel Messi’s net worth is around $600 million but it will be much higher by the time he ends his contract with Inter Miami.
How old is Messi?
Messi recently turned 36 years old.
