Lionel Messi turns 32 on Monday and the Barcelona and Argentina forward s status as one of the greatest players of all time has been firmly cemented.
Not only is he one of the most gifted players to ever play football, he is undoubtedly one of the game s most devastating goalscorers.
Those goals are frequently head-turning in their brilliance, so to celebrate the birthday boy we take on the unenviable task of selecting his 10 best for club and country.
Feliz cumpleanos, Leo!
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Feliz cumpleaños
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es)
Albacete (H): May 1, 2005
Even at 17, Messi had the confidence of a veteran. Having already had one goal wrongly ruled out for offside an audacious chip from the edge of the box Messi s confidence was far from knocked and just a minute later he latched onto Ronaldinho s scooped pass before lobbing the ball over Albacete goalkeeper Raul Valbuena from 16 yards. Some way to open your account for one of Europe s great clubs.
GOAL MORNING!!!
Do you remember Leo s first official goal?
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Malaga (H): March 22, 2009
Thierry Henry s favourite goal by Messi during their time playing together for Barca. Why not let the France great take up the story? It defied logic what he did, Henry said in the Take the Ball, Pass the Ball documentary. There s a diagonal ball and he controls it on his chest. He runs full speed, then the first player goes and the second player is just behind. If he takes another step, that player will clear the ball. A shimmy of the body and deft touch later – in the blink of an eye – Messi stabbed into the top corner to conclude a moment of 100-miles-per-hour brilliance.
Real Zaragoza (A): March 21, 2010
Described by some as a defining goal in his career, this strike against Zaragoza seemed to take him from very good into another class entirely. Messi displayed all he had to offer in a goal that began when he won the ball from a tackle on halfway. From there, he shrugged off one challenge, raced towards the box and turned a defender inside out before drilling into the far corner, leaving coach Pep Guardiola speechless.
Real Madrid (A): April 27, 2011
At the height of the Clasico rivalry between Guardiola s Barca and Jose Mourinho s Real Madrid, the two teams met four times in three different competitions in less than a month. The league meeting ended in a draw and Madrid won the Copa del Rey final, but Barca triumphed in the Champions League semi-final with a 3-1 aggregate win. The first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, an ill-tempered affair to say the least, saw Messi make it 2-0 by bursting beyond four attempted challenges and slotting past Iker Casillas, all in the space of around five seconds.
Athletic Bilbao (A): April 27, 2013
Barca would regain their LaLiga title from Madrid but were in the midst of a Champions League semi-final shellacking from Bayern Munich when they arrived at San Mames. A goal down in a match that would eventually finish 2-2, Messi received possession from Thiago Alcantara, twisted past Mikel San Jose, Carlos Gurpegui and Ander Herrera with minimal space in which to operate before nonchalantly sidefooting home from just inside the penalty area.
Leo
Athletic Club
2012-2013
!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Iran (N): June 21, 2014
Prior to the 2014 World Cup, Messi had only scored one goal in eight appearances. Seemingly determined to step up for Argentina, he netted in his side s opening match before going on to score one of the goals of the tournament in the second against Iran. With the score at 0-0 heading into stoppage time, Messi took control of the ball and bent a powerful strike past the despairing arms of Alireza Haghighi to break Iranian hearts.
This time last year, Lionel Messi cuts inside against Iran at the
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup)
Real Madrid (A): April 23, 2017
El Clasico rarely disappoints for football fans around the globe, and this edition was no different. Anything but a win would essentially hand Madrid the title, and it looked to be heading for a 2-2 draw until Sergi Roberto s swashbuckling run in the 92nd minute gave Jordi Alba the chance to square it to Messi, who finished with aplomb from the edge of the area for his 500th Barcelona goal.
Ecuador (A): October 11, 2017
Romario Ibarra s first-minute goal in the last match of CONMEBOL qualification left football fans across the globe staring at the prospect of the unthinkable a World Cup without Messi. Enter the man himself, who dragged Argentina out of a bumbling stupor to single-handedly tear Ecuador apart with a sensational hat-trick. The shift of pace and stunning, dipping finish into the top corner to claim the matchball was the best of the bunch and a grateful bench spilled on to the field to mob their hero.
Real Betis (A): March 17, 2019
Rarely has a hat-trick been completed in finer fashion. Messi s two goals had helped Barca to a 3-1 lead at the Benito Villamarin, before he passed to Ivan Rakitic, ran onto the return ball and sent a first-time chip over goalkeeper Pau Lopez and in off the crossbar from just inside the box. It was a sublime effort that even had the home fans on the feet, applauding something Messi himself admitted he has not experienced before.
Benito Villamarín
Tremendous gesture from the fans as they recognise that the Leo magic is something for everyone to enjoy. Bravo!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Liverpool (H): May 1, 2019
Over the past few years, Messi has mastered the art of free-kick taking, one of few skills to elude him in his younger days. Liverpool held their own for long periods in the Champions League semi-final at Camp Nou but goals from Luis Suarez and Messi gave the hosts breathing space. Jurgen Klopp s side then simply had to bow to greatness when, after being brought down by Fabinho, Barca s talisman swept an unstoppable 30-yard effort into the top corner. That strike took Messi to 600 Barca goals, but the shine was taken off six days later as Liverpool mounted a sensational second-leg comeback, winning 4-0 at Anfield.
