• Faith: Christian - Catholic
• Career: Athlete
• Birthday:  June 24, 1987
• Accomplishments:  FIFA World Cup
• Fun Fact: 

  Is incredibly close to his family, even maintaining his family childhood home, standing empty for several years.

Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer ("soccer player" to Americans), and plays for the Spanish club Barcelona. He is the only player in history to win 5 FIFA Awards, and holds countless records for most goals scored.

Born and raised in Argentina, he moved to Barcelona in his teens to join the football club there, as they'd agreed to absorb the cost of treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Despite being injury-prone in his early career, Messi has concretely established himself as a premiere footballer, and has been the top paid athlete in his sport for the last five years.

He has been in a long-term relationship with the mother of his two children, and lives very near most of his family for whom he maintains a close-knit living compound. He's heavily involved in several charitable endeavors, including youth sports, and financially supports a youth football club in his hometown village through his own charitable foundation.