Even before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, the 35-year-old announced that it was his last World Cup, so… now or never. From the start of the event, he played as a leader and a captain. In fact, the only moment of weakness was a penalty he missed in a group game against Poland.

In the knockout stage, in which he had not scored a goal before, this year he beat the rival goalkeepers five times, including two in a dramatic final against France, which ended in a series of shoot to the net. He also played, passed, assisted and directed. Later, he received the award for the best player in the World Cup, but especially in the World Cup, the most valuable football trophy. He realized his big dream.

“Messi with the World Cup is the moment when Soccer shows a romantic face,” said former German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Messi started his senior career with Barcelona and made his first-team debut in 2004. He won countless trophies with this club, including winning the Champions League four times, being Spanish champions 10 times, won the National Cup and the Super Cup seven times. Last year he decided to move Paris Saint Germainwith whom he became French champion in his first season and won the equivalent of the local Super Cup – the Trophée des Champions.

The collection of his individual awards is also considerable – led by the Ballon d’Or which was awarded to him seven times during the plebiscite of the magazine “France Football” (for a short period combined with the plebiscite of the International Football Federation – FIFA).

For a long time, however, he could not achieve significant success with his national team, which was often recalled in debates about who is the best footballer in history. It was pointed out that personalities such as his compatriot and great predecessor Maradona or the Brazilian Pelé led their national teams to triumph at the world championships.

Born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Messi was one step away from that trophy in Brazil in 2014, but Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany in the final after extra time. It was no consolation that the Argentine was voted the best player of the tournament. A year and two years later, the “Albicelestes” lost to Chile in the Copa America final.

After that second defeat, a team-mate reported that Messi collapsed and ‘cried like never before’.

Messi then resigned from playing for the national team, but changed his mind less than two months later.

“A lot of things were going through my mind that night and I was seriously considering leaving, but mine love the homeland and the national shirt are too powerful,” Argentina’s all-time top scorer, 98 goals in 172 games, said in a statement.

In 2021, he finally achieved his first trophy – in the Copa America final, “Albicelestes” beat Brazil 1-0. Rival footballer Neymar, Messi’s teammate at Barcelona and now also at PSG, said at the time: “I hate to lose, but you, my brother, enjoy this title. Football has been waiting for this moment.”

In 2009-12, Messi dominated the competition for the title of best player in the world, collecting the Ballon d’Or four times in a row. Later, he won this plebiscite in 2015, 2019 and 2021, when he was only 33 points ahead of Robert Lewandowski. No one else has received this award more than five times.

“He has been better than everyone from the start. It is a mistake to compare what is incomparable, so two Ballons d’Or should be awarded: one for Messi, one for the rest,” said the former Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli, a bit jokingly.

Messi has broken countless club, European and world records. One of his notable achievements was breaking Germany’s Gerd Mueller’s record for most goals scored in a calendar year. From January to December 2012, he scored 91.

However, his CV has been marred by problems with the Spanish tax authorities. In 2016, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined 2 million euro for tax crimes, and the appeals were unsuccessful. He did not go to prison because in Spain prison sentences of less than 24 months are not carried out if they are pronounced for the first time.

In 2017, Messi married his childhood friend Antonela Roccuzzo. The couple have three sons: Thiago (born in 2012), Mateo (2015) and Ciro (2018). All four in national jerseys with the number 10 supported him during the World Cup in Qatar.

Sylwetka Lionela Messiego:
ur. 24 czerwca 1987 roku w Rosario
wzrost - 169 cm
kluby - FC Barcelona (2004-2021), Paris Saint-Germain (od 2021)
pozycja - napastnik
debiut w reprezentacji - 17 sierpnia 2005 (Węgry - Argentyna 1:2)
pierwszy gol w reprezentacji - 1 marca 2006 (Chorwacja - Argentyna 3:2)
dorobek w reprezentacji - 172 meczów, 98 bramki, 52 asysty
gole w reprezentacji:
- 61 z akcji, 28 z karnych, 9 z wolnych
- 87 lewą nogą, 9 prawą nogą, 2 głową
- 44 w meczach towarzyskich, 28 w eliminacyjnych, 13 w Copa America, 13 w mistrzostwach świata
największe sukcesy:
indywidualne:
najlepszy piłkarz roku na świecie (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021)
najlepszy piłkarz mistrzostw świata (2014, 2022)
król strzelców ligi hiszpańskiej  (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
król strzelców Ligi Mistrzów      (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)
Złoty But                         (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019)
z drużyną narodową:
1. miejsce w mistrzostwach świata (2022)
1. miejsce w Copa America         (2021)
2. miejsce w mistrzostwach świata (2014)
2. miejsce w Copa America         (2007, 2015, 2016)
Finalissima                       (2022)
z Barceloną:
triumf w Lidze Mistrzów           (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)
Superpuchar Europy                (2009, 2011, 2015)
mistrzostwo Hiszpanii             (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)
Puchar Hiszpanii                  (2009, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021)
Superpuchar Hiszpanii             (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018)
klubowe mistrzostwo świata        (2009, 2011, 2015)
z Paris Saint-Germain:
mistrzostwo Francji               (2022)
Superpuchar Francji               (2022)
z drużynami młodzieżowymi:
złoty medal olimpijski i tytuł najlepszego piłkarza turnieju (2008)
mistrzostwo świata do lat 20 i tytuł najlepszego piłkarza oraz króla strzelców turnieju (2005)