Lionel Messi

An internationally-known Argentinian-born footballer Lionel Messi became the third of four children in a family of Celia and Jorge. The father was a steelworker and mother was an employee in a manufacturing workshop.

A future star “fell in love” with sports and football in particular at a very young age. At 4 he already joined a local club called Grandoli, where he was trained by his dad. Two years later he became a part of a youth team Newell’s Old Boys.

For several years in a row, Lionel demonstrated outstanding results, which gave him an opportunity to relocate to Barcelona at the age of just 13. There, he began playing for FC Barcelona under-14 team.

Apart from that, the celebrity can also boast of representing his home country in the 2006 World Cup as well as Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

According to multiple sources, the sportsman showed the best ever results in the year 2012 when he made 50 goals in various matches.

Today, the celebrity keeps playing football, remaining one of the highest paid players ever with a net worth of over 400 million dollars.

However, this is not all information we would like to share about such a gifted sportsman. Here are top 5 fascinating facts about his life to surprise you with:

• He is often nicknamed The Flea because of his speed during the game.
• He holds both Spanish and Argentina’s passports.
• He is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.
• He likes spending free time playing with children and relaxing with spouse.
• He is a very shy person. In addition, it is hard for him to talk on the phone. Therefore, if one wants to deliver some important information to him, it should be done through SMS.