Q - what age was Lionel Messi when he signed for Barcelona? 13, 15, 17 or 19. Read on ...
He Wears No 10 for Barcelona and on Saturday next will be one of the "Barca" superstars playing in the 2011 Champions League Final against another team of superstars, "The Red Devils", Manchester United. But the little Argentinian, Messi, is likely to be the most celebrated and idolised player on the pitch.
Some Facts on Lionel Messi
23 - His age (born 24 June 1987)
11 - His age when he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency
13 - his age when he was signed by Barcelona and moved with his entire family from Argentina to Spain and Barcelona agreed to pay the medical costs of treating his growth deficiency
5'-7" - His height today (1.69m)
16 - age he debuted with Barcelona (friendly)
17 - age for debut in the Spanish league, La Liga
52 - the number of goals Messi has scored in the 2010/11 season from 50 matches in all competitions.
47 - the number of goal she scored in previous season - 2009/10 (53 matches)
38 - and goals in the season befor that 2008/09 (51 matches) - so each year the tally is going up
9+1 - in his first season (2004/05) he played 9 games and scored 1 goal
1883 - the year his grandfathre emigrated from Italy to Arentina
10 - Messi started wearing the no. 10 club jersey in 2008 when the previous 'owner', Ronaldinho, left
250 - Messi has a 250 million euro buy-out clause in his most recent contract.
No. 1 - He is ranked the number 1 player in the world by FIFA. In 2007 he was rated 2nd behind Kaka, in 2008 2nd behind Christiano Ronaldo and the in 2009 he was the winner and again in 2010. He was the first Argentinian to win the award.
