Lionel Messi - La Pulga(The Flea)

Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. His father, Jorge Horacio Messi was a factory steel worker and mother Celia Maria Cuccittini was a part time cleaner. Lionel Messi's family have a distant Italian connection, with his ancestors having imigrated to Argentina from Italy. Lionel Messi started playing football at the age of five. It was his grand mother who took an interest to the little boy's footballing skills. It's her who had the greatest influence in little Messi's life apart from his own mother. Like all the legendary players, Lionel Messi fell in love with the football field from the word go. Eventhough he was smaller than other kids, his skill pushed him way ahead of him. At the age of eleven, he was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency problem. The club he was playing for at that time, Newell's Old Boy's could not afford to pay for the $900 a month treatment for him. So his parent's were forced to look for alternate options. Riverplate were made aware of the new talent and was looking a chance to pounce on the youngster. But surprisingly they hesitated to pay for the $900 treatment. Hence his parents were forced to look for offers from outside Argentina. FC Barcelona naturally took an interest on him and scheduled for a trial at Barcelona. Things didn't go as planed as messi had to wait for days before showcasing his talent to Barca. With one day to go, Messi was given a chance to showcase his talent. Carles Rexach, the Barcelona sporting director at that tiem who was present in the trials immediately realised the talent of Messi. He was so desperate to tie him down that he got a paper napkin and wrote the contract signing Lionel Messi. The rest they say is history. He made his official Barca debut in 2005-06 season. But the real proclamation of his greatness happened when he grabbed a hat-trick against Real Madrid at Camp Nou, in a thrilling 3-3- draw. Lionel Messi currently is the second highest goal scorer in the history of FC Barcelona with 211 strikes. He has already won the Balon d'Or thrice. It's only he could decide what all records will be left unbroken when he finishes off his career.

Lionel Messi wins Balon D'Or for the third consecutive Time. Find More details here - Messi Wins Balon D'Or

From the time he decided to represent Argentina in World football, comparison with El Diego was inevitable. Fans across the globe went crazy when he produced his own version of Maradona's "Goal of the Century" against Getafe. He even imitated his idols hand of god in a match against Espanyol. With his low centre of gravity and a penchant for quick and brilliant dribbling, Lionel Messi is the closest the World has seen to Diego Maradona. Some proclaim him to be better than the Real Number 10. The comparison is never simple. We are trying to compare a genius talent to one of the greatest the world have ever seen. Diego Maradona could be considered as the only player in the history of World Cup to have single handed won the competition. Hence the true test for Lionel Messi will come in the World stage with his national side.

Here is an article which attempts to compare the geniuses of these two players - Maradona vs Messi - A Never Ending Comparison

Lionel Messi wins the inaugral UEFA Best Player of the Year Award