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Lionel Andres Messi was born 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe, the third of four children.
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At the age of four (1991), Messi joined his first team in Grandoli, where he was coached by his father.
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At the age of six, Messi joined his second team, Newell's old boys in Rosario where he scored over 500 goals in just the six years he spent playing for them.
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At just age eleven, he is diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency which was stopping his normal growth rate. His parents could not afford his treatments, however, that were over $900/per month.
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In the year 2000, Barcelona arranged a trial in an attempt to sign Messi to play for their youth team. In 2001, the family moved to Barcelona where they moved into an apartment close to Messi's new club stadium.
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After one year of playing for Barcelona's youth team, Messi was finally enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation in February 2002.
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Messi broke his cheekbone during an important game which was a week before the teams most important game of the season, he was aloud to play in the game under the condition that he wear a plastic protecting mask over his cheek.
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During the 2003-2004 season with Barcelona, his fourth year, he was rapidly progressing through the clubs ranks and was named player of the tournament for a very important campaign for the club. After he played in the tournament, he was promoted to the Juveniles A team.
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After he impressed the coaching staff during his first match, Messi began training with the international team every day as well as playing with his other team Juveniles A. Shortly after he started training with them, he befriended one of the teams star players, Ronaldinho, who believed Messi would soon become a better player then him.They also called each other "big brother" and "little brother".
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near the end of the 2003-2004 season, along with a few other youth players, Messi was called up to play in some international games during the international break.
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As well as also playing with Juveniles A, Messi soon joined Barcelona C to gain further experience.
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On his 18th birthday, June 24th 2005, Messi signed his first contract as a Senior team player. It made him a permanent player on the Barcelona international team until 2010 (5 years).
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From 2005-present day,Lionel Messi is one of the most well known soccer players of all time. He currently plays for FC Barcelona and the captains the Argentina National team.
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At just age 16, Messi played in his first international game. He came on in the 75th minute and created 2 scoring opportunities which impressed the coaching staff of the team.
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On March 6th he made his first debut with another new team, Barcelona B.
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At age 17, Messi was promoted to play on the Barcelona international team with his friend, Ronaldinho, as a substitute player.
