FC Barcelona in the context of "Wembley Stadium"

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history, Messi has set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career, including eight Ballon d'Ors, six European Golden Shoes, and eight times being named the world's best player by FIFA. In 2025, he was named the All Time Men's World Best Player by the IFFHS. He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football having won 45 team trophies. Messi's records include most goals in a calendar year (91), most goals for a single club (672 for Barcelona), most goals in La Liga (474), most assists in international football (61), most goal contributions in the FIFA World Cup (21), and most goal contributions in the Copa América (32). A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi has scored over 890 senior career goals and provided over 400 assists for club and country—the most of any player—resulting in over 1,300 goal contributions, the highest total in the sport's history.

Messi made his competitive debut for Barcelona at age 17 in October 2004. He gradually established himself as an integral player for the club, and during his first uninterrupted season at age 22 in 2008–09 he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. This resulted in Messi winning the first of four consecutive Ballon d'Ors, and by the 2011–12 season he set the European record for most goals in a season and established himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. During the 2014–15 campaign, where he became the all-time top scorer in La Liga, he led Barcelona to a historic second treble, leading to a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2015. He assumed Barcelona's captaincy in 2018 and won a record sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019. At Barcelona, Messi won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues, among others. Financial difficulties at Barcelona led to Messi signing with French club Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, where he won the Ligue 1 title during both of his seasons there. He joined MLS club Inter Miami in July 2023.

In top-level association football competitions, 26 players have scored 500 or more goals in both club and international football, according to research by the IFFHS, first published in 2007. Taking into account competitions of all levels, 82 players have reached the milestone, according to the RSSSF. FIFA, the international governing body of football, has never released a list detailing the highest goalscorers and does not keep official records. It is challenging for statisticians and media to agree on which goals should be counted, with debate over whether to include those scored in friendlies, regional competitions, and even matches taking place during wartime. Hungarian Imre Schlosser is generally recognised as the first to reach the 500-goal mark, doing so in 1927 shortly before his retirement. Nine players have accomplished the feat at a single club: Josef Bican (Slavia Prague), Jimmy Jones (Glenavon), Jimmy McGrory (Celtic), Joe Bambrick (Linfield), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gerd Müller (Bayern Munich), Pelé (Santos), Fernando Peyroteo (Sporting CP), and Uwe Seeler (Hamburg). Of these nine, Messi scored the most, with 672 goals between his debut in 2004 and his departure in 2021.

In 2020, FIFA recognised Josef Bican, an Austrian-Czech dual international who played between the 1930s and the 1950s, as the record scorer with an estimated 805 goals, although CNN, the BBC, France 24, and O Jogo all acknowledge that Bican's tally includes goals scored for reserve teams and in unofficial international matches. UEFA, the governing body for European football, ranks him as the leading all-time goalscorer in European top-flight leagues with 518 goals, narrowly ahead of Hungarian Ferenc Puskás. RSSSF credits Bican with 948 goals, a tally which includes goals scored in winter tournaments, as well as when selected to represent regional and city teams, and the Football Association of the Czech Republic claims a total of 821. Spanish newspapers Marca and Sport state that both Bican and Pelé scored 762 goals. Bican once walked out of a gala held in his honour by the IFFHS after the organisation had excluded war-time goals from his tally, although it later recognised the 229 goals he had scored during the period.

The following is a list of most expensive association football transfers, which details the highest transfer fees ever paid for players, as well as transfers which set new world transfer records. The first confirmed record transfer was of Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 in 1893 (equivalent to £14,000 in 2023), made just eight years after the introduction of professionalism by the Football Association in 1885.

The current transfer record was set by the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million (£200 million) in August 2017. While the current record for women was set by the transfer of Olivia Smith from Liverpool to Arsenal for €1.157 million (£1 million) in July 2025.

The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest level of the Spanish football league system. It is controlled by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional and is contested by 20 teams over a 38-matchday period.

Since its inception, 62 teams have competed in La Liga, with nine teams crowned champions. Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the competition, winning 36 and 28 titles respectively. In the 1940s, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona emerged as the strongest clubs. Real Madrid and Barcelona led the charge in the 1950s, each winning four titles. During the 1960s and 1970s, Real Madrid dominated with fourteen titles, with Atlético Madrid winning four. During the 1980s and 1990s, Real Madrid remained prominent, while the Basque clubs of Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad enjoyed success, each winning two titles. From the 1990s onward, Barcelona have been the most successful club, winning seventeen titles, with Real Madrid close behind. La Liga has seen other champions, including Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish professional association football club based in Madrid. The club was formed in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, and played its first competitive match on 13 May 1902, in the Copa de la Coronación semi-final. Real Madrid currently plays in the Spanish top-tier La Liga, having become one of the founding members of that league in 1929, and is one of three clubs, the others being Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, to have never been relegated from the league. They have also been involved in European football ever since they became the first Spanish club to enter the European Cup in 1955, except for the 1977–78 and 1996–97 seasons.

This list encompasses the major honours won by Real Madrid and records set by the club, their managers and their players. The player records section includes details of the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Real Madrid players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club.

The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry, or Ronaldo–Messi rivalry, is a sporting rivalry in football propelled by the media and fans that involves Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, mainly for being contemporaries and due to their similar records and sporting successes. They spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers facing off regularly while playing for rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Together, they have achieved various historical milestones, coming to be considered as two of the best footballers of all time. They are two of the most decorated players ever, having won 82 official trophies in total (Messi 48, Ronaldo 34) during their senior careers thus far, and have regularly broken the 50-goal barrier in a single season. According to IFFHS, they are the only two players to score over 800 goals each in their careers for club and country. Ronaldo holds the record for most official goals in a career.

Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. His individual achievements include eight Ballon d'Or awards, the most for any footballer. Having won 46 team trophies, he is the most decorated player in the history of professional football. Messi is often hailed as a genius, with his prolific goalscoring ability and high level dribbling, passing and playmaking earning him recognition as one of the greatest and most iconic players in football history. In 2024, US-based sports company ESPN named Messi the greatest player of the 21st-century.

Messi's club career began with Barcelona, where he rose through the youth ranks, making his first-team debut in 2004. Over the next years, Messi became the club's all-time top scorer, amassing numerous domestic and international accolades. During his tenure, Barcelona secured ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Reys, four UEFA Champions Leagues, seven Supercopa de Españas, three UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. In August 2021, due to financial constraints faced by Barcelona, Messi signed for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Joining forces with fellow superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, he won two Ligue 1 titles and one Trophée des Champions. In July 2023, Messi joined Inter Miami, leading the team to win their first-ever trophies with the Leagues Cup and the Supporters' Shield.

A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental trophy. Although winning a second-tier continental trophy (e.g. Europa League) has also been described as a continental treble, it is not as widely accepted. A domestic treble involves winning three national competitions—including the league title, the primary cup competition, and one secondary competition, such as a league cup.

Competitions which consist of a single match or a two-leg match are not normally counted as part of a continental treble (e.g., the FA Community Shield, Supercopa de España, Supercoppa Italiana, Trophée des Champions, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Super Cup, Recopa Sudamericana, FIFA Club World Cup (2005–2023 editions), Intercontinental Cup and others).

The 2009 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded to Lionel Messi of Barcelona on 1 December 2009, the first of his record setting eight Ballon d'Or awards.

Messi won the award by a then record margin, 240 points ahead of 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Xavi was the second Barcelona player in the top three, finishing a further 63 points behind Ronaldo. Messi's win made him the first Argentine-born player to win the award since Omar Sívori in 1961; however, Sívori had taken Italian citizenship by that time and is recognised to have won the Ballon d'Or as an Italian player.