24th June 1987 on the poorest part of Rosario, Argentina a baby took his first breath. His parents had no big expectations of him at all. As all the deprived peoples he was supposed to live his entire life rubbing his knees for his living but he changed the fate, he carved his luck, he explored himself and now he echoes around in the minds of every football admirers as the best footballing brain to have ever graced the football pitch. Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini, the heart of this beautiful game has a success story like no other.

Born on a country with a football culture and the hype the game gets in the streets of Argentina it was no wonder Messi started liking the game from the beginning. His father, George Messi took him to the football academy where Messi started growing as a football player. Magnetic foot and swift speed were the notable characters he possessed. He was so much into the game that he would go all guns blazing for the entire day without getting slightly exhausted. He was destined for greatness; he started winning from a small age. He was enhancing himself as a player, however, life is full of slapping down to the expectations; success is somehow entwined with failures. His growth as a player was outrageous but his body stopped growing, he had a growth hormone deficiency. His parents could have never saved the amount of money which was required for the treatment of that disease.

Option-less and helpless, with a belief on his son's talent Messi's father took an instant decision, a decision that could have opened the door for golden future of Leo but also could have shut down all possible ways to break into a footballing world as a player. He took his son to Barcelona, Spain and to the academy; La Masia is known for introducing legends to the game.

The selectors closely looked at the way that young little kid played and they immediately saw the sparkle of talent that kid possessed and they were so impressed that they agreed to pay for his treatment and they were so impatient to add up talent in their ranks that they signed a contract in a napkin paper.
The struggle didn't end here; a shy guy staying away from home playing beside the ranks of the world’s most dominating youngsters it was never going to be easy. Pretty much introvert, he always found it difficult to adapt in the dressing room but in the pitch, he was the same as he used to be, magical and magnificent.
Playing from the Barca under 12's, under 14's he impressed everyone and at the raw age of 16, he was set to share the pitch with the Barcelona team among which everyone dreams to play. Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol; the names which every football fans adored were privileged to welcome a young guy set to be a next master of the game. He found it very difficult to adapt in a new environment but he got a friend and an inspirer in the name of Ronaldinho. The fellow South American helped Messi to adapt in the Barcelona dressing room. The humongous amount of talent Messi possessed made Ronaldinho( one of the best football player of that time) believe that one day this little guy with long hair will surpass him to be crowned as the undisputed king of the world football.

The Catalan derby; Barcelona vs Espanyol, the 82nd minute of the game and Deco was taken off to be replaced by a guy who will change the complexion of the whole game. Leo stepped his foot on the football pitch for the first time as a Barcelona player and football is not the same since then. He didn't score his maiden goal early but he started catching the eyes of the audiences with his orgasmic dribbling abilities and sniper like accuracy in passing. In the world full of hefty and muscular players a guy who stood mere 1.7 m above the ground started stealing the spotlights.

Finally, the long silence of his goals was broken down by a goal assisted by the man himself; Ronaldinho and what followed was a shower of goals against each and every opponent he faced.
A hat-trick against Real Madrid at a very young age of 19 shook the football world. He started garnering the admiration form well-known legends of the game. Finally, in 2009 he stood up in the podium to be the best football player in the world leaving behind the ranks of Ronaldo and Xavi. The world's fiercest rivalry begun right here which divided the world into two halves. He continued winning every possible individual award to prove the doubters wrong on each and every occasion.
Till now he was doing something that made him best in the world but the year 2012 added a gigantic wall in the building of his legacy and made him the best player in the world by a huge margin. An insane extraordinary talent added up to an unimaginable football brain he kept on humiliating the well-known defenders of the game. The tug on his shirt never stopped, the grab in his shoulders never ceased, the kicks in his foot never halted but of course his march towards the goalpost also never ended. He kept on being a nightmare for every defender of the game. They kept on embracing a unique solution to stop Leo but Messi kept on coming out of the syllabus every time.
Something no-one had ever witnessed, Leo kept on proving himself to be the best player (Ballon d'Or winner) for four consecutive years gaining a tremendous amount of fans including the well-known personalities namely Buffon, Maradona, Pele, Pep Guardiola and thousands of others who themselves have beautified the game. He went on to win fifth Ballon d'Or 2 years later becoming the first player to do so. In addition to that, he was the ace of the Barcelona team which cemented its place as one of the best clubs in the world. League trophy, champions league and many more, he has won many honors however one brick is still left to be added in his legendary career; an international trophy. Upset of losing the final of 4 tournaments he has played with the Argentine national team he will go all guns blazing in Copa 2019.