GOAT: Barcelona star Lionel Messi turns 32

Arguably the greatest ever player to grace a football pitch, Lionel Messi who has ruled world football for over a decade turns 32.

The diminutive Argentine will however have to contend with greats like Pele, Diego Maradona and even Cristiano Ronaldo for football’s Greatest Of All Time tag.

Born 24 June 1987, Messi currently captains both Barcelona and the Argentina national team.

Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has a record-tying five Ballon d’Or awards, four of which he won consecutively, and a record six European Golden Shoes.

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He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and six Copas del Rey.

A prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (419), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (169) and the Copa América.

He has scored over 695 senior career goals for club and country.

Happy birthday to the most successful player in Barcelona’s history; Argentina’s all-time top scorer; the first five-time Ballon d’Or winner; the only man with six Golden Shoes; the scorer of 73 goals in a season, 91 in a year and over 600 in total.

Happy birthday, Lionel Messi. pic.twitter.com/QdF9wNRa3C

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— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 24, 2019