Goals and importance

1996/1997 season.
Argentina national team Messi wore the captain's armband in different parties. In 2006 he became the youngest player in the team to attend a World Cup, with which he won the runner-up in the Copa America 2007. In 2008, at the Olympic Games in Beijing, Messi won a Gold Medal.

He has been compared with Diego Maradona, who declared him as his successor. In addition to Argentina nationality, since 2005 it has also Spanish. On January 9, 2012 he received the 'Golden Ball FIFA 2011', in a ceremony held at the Palacio de Congresos de Zurich, after overcoming in the vote to teammate Xavi Hernandez and Real Madrid striker, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi received the October 29, 2012 the Golden Boot, the award recognizes the top scorer in the European leagues. The 50 goals scored in 37 games in the 2011-2012 season makes him the second time in the continental scorer, something already achieved two seasons ago, when he scored 34 goals.

On January 7, 2013 Leo Messi conquest fourth consecutive Golden Ball. He did it to overcome the final vote Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta and moves over to Marco van Basten, Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini, the other players They had three awards.

In June 2013 Messi paid to the Spanish Tax Agency ten million euros in additional income tax returns for their image rights for fiscal years 2010 and 2011. He made this payment voluntarily after a court in Gava (Barcelona ) imputed him with his father for having defrauded more than four million euros to the tax authorities between 2006 and 2009 for his image rights.
It has its own foundation in charge of supporting underprivileged children to fulfill their dreams; it is also an international ambassador for UNICEF.

The July 13, 2014, along with his team, he played Germany in the final of the World Cup in Brazil lose the goal by Mario Götze 114 minutes. " Messi was chosen by FIFA for the World Cup Golden Ball as the "Best Player of the Tournament".

The June 6, 2015 won its fourth European Cup after beating Juventus in Berlin; then rising to 26 degrees and more becoming the Argentine champion in history. Barcelona won three trophies this season. La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League, in that order.