Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is an Argentine footballer, described as one of the great players of his country.

No player in history has collected more honours, and his tally stood at 46 team trophies no later than October 2026.

Lionel Messi plays for Inter Miami CF, which he joined in 2023. An extension of his contract through the 2028 MLS season was in place no later than 20 October 2026.

| --- | --- | | Ballon d'Or (record) | Eight | | UEFA Champions League | Four | | La Liga titles | 10 | | Ligue 1 titles | Two | | Copa del Rey titles | Seven | | Trophée des Champions | One | | FIFA World Cup | 2022 | | CONMEBOL Copa América | 2021 | | CONMEBOL Copa América | 2024 | | CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions | 2022 | | Olympic gold medal | Won | | FIFA Club World Cup | Three | | The Best FIFA Men's Player | Three | | FIFA World Cup Golden Ball | Two | | Sole two-time winner of the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball | Twice | | UEFA Men's Player of the Year | Three | | European Golden Shoe | Six | | La Liga Best Player | Six | | Pichichi trophy (record) | Eight | | Argentine Footballer of the Year | 16 |

Club career

Before his move to the United States, Lionel Messi played for FC Barcelona, a spell recorded for 2004 to 2008, and for Paris Saint-Germain between 2021 and 2023. In Spain he scored 474 La Liga goals, including 50 in a single season, according to intermiamicf.com on 20 October 2026. The same source, on the same date, put his total in Europe's top five leagues at 496 goals and his output for 2012 at 91 goals in a calendar year. In the UEFA Champions League he had scored 80 group-stage goals and 29 in the round of 16, according to intermiamicf.com on 20 October 2026. He scored in the Champions League in 18 successive seasons.

Inter Miami

At Inter Miami he plays on the right wing and is club captain. Intermiamicf.com credited him on 20 October 2026 with 71 goals and 44 assists in 82 appearances. He won the 2023 Leagues Cup and took that tournament's Best Player and Top Scorer awards with 10 goals in seven appearances. In 2024 Inter Miami took the MLS Supporters' Shield, and he earned the Landon Donovan MVP Award after scoring 20 goals and setting up 16 more, 36 in all, across 20 regular-season matches. His 29 goals made him Inter Miami's first MLS Golden Boot winner, no later than 20 October 2026. In 2025 the club reached a historic round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup and the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup. MLS suspended him no later than 17 October 2026.

Argentina

He is recorded with the Argentina national team in 2005, and he led Argentina to the World Cup title in 2022. Intermiamicf.com listed him on 20 October 2026 with 195 caps and 114 goals for Argentina, among them 13 goals in 26 World Cup matches. FIFA and Fox Sports gave a figure of 21 goals in World Cup matches as of 31 August 2026. No other player has scored in every round of a single World Cup, from the group phase through the knockout rounds to the final. He netted two goals in his last World Cup qualifier played in Argentina, and his retirement from international football was reported no later than 17 October 2026. According to Catalunya Radio, no later than that date, he had decided his future until 2028, beyond the World Cup.

Lionel Messi had a net worth of $1.1 billion, according to a Forbes estimate dated 20 October 2026. His salary stood at $25,000,000.00 in base pay and $28,333,333.00 in total compensation, according to figures from mlsplayers.org published no later than 20 October 2026.

Forbes estimated in 2026 that Messi had earned $1.9 billion over his career, a figure counted before taxes and agents' fees. On the magazine's list of The World's Highest-Paid Athletes he ranked fifth in 2025 and rose to third in 2026. Among footballers alone, he placed second on Forbes's list of The World's Highest-Paid Soccer Players in rankings covering 2024 to 2026.

His income extends beyond club wages: he holds a lifetime endorsement deal with Adidas, according to Forbes no later than 17 October 2026. By that date he had appeared on Forbes lists 29 times, according to the same publication.

Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina.