Lionel Messi
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This Lionel Messi quiz has 47 free questions with answers and follows the whole arc: the boy from Rosario diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at ten, the contract famously scribbled on a napkin, the teenager Ronaldinho called 'little brother', the 91-goal year, the sextuple, the departure from Barcelona that nobody wanted, and the night in Lusail that finally settled the argument. It ends in Miami, where he was still breaking league records in his late thirties. The questions mix the numbers every fan knows (how many Ballons d'Or, how many Champions Leagues) with details that trip up casual viewers: which club he played for at seven, what shirt number he took at PSG, who scored a hat-trick against him in a World Cup final and still lost, and which award he was the first footballer ever to win. About a third are easy, the rest climb steadily. Every answer has been checked against a cited source, and the citation appears under each explanation, so the pub debate can be closed on the spot.
30 of 47 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which Argentine city was Lionel Messi born in June 1987?
Rosario
Rosario: Messi left his home city at 13, when Barcelona agreed to pay for medical treatment his family could no longer afford, and so he never played in Argentina's top division.
Q 02As a boy, Messi was diagnosed with what condition, which threatened his future in football?
A growth hormone deficiency
A growth hormone deficiency: the injections cost more than his family or Argentine clubs would keep paying for, so Barcelona's offer to fund the treatment sealed his move.
Q 03Barcelona's first commitment to sign the 13-year-old Messi was famously written on what?
A paper napkin
A paper napkin: with Barcelona's board hesitating and Messi's camp demanding proof of commitment, Carles Rexach wrote the pledge on one at a tennis club restaurant on 14 December 2000.
Q 04Which club in his home city did Messi play for before moving to Barcelona?
Newell's Old Boys
Newell's Old Boys: Messi came up through its youth teams in a side nicknamed 'The Machine of '87'; a trial at River Plate came to nothing before Barcelona took him at 13.
Q 05Which Barcelona star nicknamed the teenage Messi 'little brother' and eased his way into the first team?
Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho took the teenage Messi under his wing, calling him 'little brother', and the Brazilian set up Messi's first senior goal, a chip against Albacete on 1 May 2005.
Q 06What record did Messi's first senior Barcelona goal, against Albacete in May 2005, set?
Barcelona's youngest league scorer
Barcelona's youngest league scorer at the time: aged 17, Messi chipped the Albacete goalkeeper moments after an almost identical chip had been ruled out for offside.
Q 07Messi's first senior hat-trick, in March 2007, came against which opponent?
Real Madrid
Real Madrid led three times in the 3-3 Clásico of 10 March 2007, and each time the 19-year-old Messi equalised, the last for a Barcelona side down to ten men.
Q 08Messi's 2007 goals against Getafe and Espanyol were compared to whose two most famous goals?
Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona: Messi's solo run through Getafe's defence in April 2007 mirrored the 'Goal of the Century', and his handball finish against Espanyol that June echoed the 'Hand of God'.
Q 09Which club beat Barcelona 8-2 in 2020, days before Messi asked to leave?
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich won the one-off Champions League quarter-final in Lisbon; Messi then gave Barcelona formal notice that he wanted out, but stayed for the last year of his contract rather than fight the club in court.
Q 10Which feat, never before managed by any club, did Messi's Barcelona achieve in 2009?
The sextuple
The sextuple: Barcelona won all six trophies open to them in 2009, completing the set when Messi chested in an extra-time winner against Estudiantes in the Club World Cup final.
Q 11Whose 40-year-old record of 85 goals in a calendar year did Messi break in 2012?
Gerd Müller
Gerd Müller scored 85 for club and country in 1972; Messi passed him with two goals against Betis in December 2012 and finished the year on 91.
Q 12Which award did Messi win for a record eighth time in 2023?
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or: voters put Messi, fresh from winning the World Cup, ahead of Erling Haaland, who had scored 56 goals for club and country that season.
Q 13Messi scored in two Champions League finals against which English club?
Manchester United
Manchester United lost both finals: Messi's header sealed a 2-0 win in Rome in 2009, and his long-range drive put Barcelona ahead for good in the 3-1 win at Wembley in 2011.
Q 21Which team did Argentina beat in the 2021 Copa América final for Messi's first senior international trophy?
Brazil
Brazil lost 1-0 at the Maracanã to an Ángel Di María lob, ending Argentina's 28-year trophy drought; the tournament had been switched to Brazil only two weeks before it began.
Q 22Why did Barcelona say in August 2021 that they could not re-sign Messi?
La Liga's salary limit
La Liga's salary limit: Messi had agreed a new five-year deal on half his wages, but Barcelona's wage bill still broke the league's cap, so the contract could not be registered.
Q 23Which PSG teammate wore the number 10 in 2021, so Messi took 30 instead?
Neymar
Q 14Whose record of 643 goals for a single club did Messi break at Barcelona in December 2020?
Pelé
Pelé scored 643 times for Santos, a record that stood for 46 years; Messi drew level against Valencia and passed it three days later with his 644th Barcelona goal, at Valladolid.
Q 15Barcelona's 2009 Champions League final win in Rome completed which landmark?
The first treble in Spanish football history
The first treble in Spanish football history: a rare header from Messi sealed the 2-0 final win, adding the Champions League to that season's La Liga and Copa del Rey titles.
Q 16In 2005 Messi was top scorer and best player as Argentina won the world title at which age level?
Under-20
Under-20: Messi turned 18 during the tournament in the Netherlands, then scored both goals of the 2-1 final win from the penalty spot.
Q 17Whom did Argentina beat in the 2008 Olympic final to win Messi his gold medal?
Nigeria
Nigeria: Argentina's under-23s, with Messi, beat Nigeria 1-0 in the Beijing final on 23 August 2008 through an Ángel Di María goal, after Barcelona had tried to block his release.
Q 18Which country's youth selectors tried to recruit the teenage Messi before Argentina had capped him?
Spain
Spain's federation wanted him for its youth teams, so Argentina hurriedly staged a friendly in June 2004 just to field Messi and settle his allegiance.
Q 19At the 2014 World Cup, Argentina lost the final to Germany, but Messi still received which award?
The Golden Ball
The Golden Ball for best player went to Messi after four goals, all in the group stage; FIFA president Sepp Blatter admitted he was 'a little bit surprised' by the choice.
Q 20After captaining Argentina to three straight lost finals (2014–16), what did Messi announce in 2016?
His retirement from international football
His retirement from international football: after missing a penalty in the Copa América Centenario shootout against Chile in June 2016, Messi said the national team was over for him, then reversed the decision within weeks.
Neymar, his old Barcelona teammate, kept PSG's number 10, so Messi went back to 30, the number he wore when he first broke into Barcelona's senior side as a teenager.
Q 24The 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France was played at which venue?
Lusail
Lusail Stadium, an 88,000-seat ground built for the tournament north of Doha, hosted the 18 December 2022 final and, earlier, Argentina's shock 2-1 opening defeat by Saudi Arabia.
Q 25Which France player scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final and still finished on the losing side?
Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé scored three in the 2022 final, including two goals 97 seconds apart, becoming only the second man after Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a World Cup final hat-trick, and the first to lose one.
Q 26Who draped a black cloak over Messi's shoulders before he lifted the 2022 World Cup?
The Emir of Qatar
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, put the bisht, a traditional Arab men's cloak, on Messi just before the trophy handover, so his Argentina shirt was partly hidden in the photos.
Q 27Which Argentina goalkeeper saved Kingsley Coman's penalty in the 2022 World Cup final shootout?
Emiliano Martínez
Emiliano Martínez saved Coman's kick before Aurélien Tchouaméni shot wide; minutes earlier, in the last seconds of extra time, he had blocked Randal Kolo Muani's one-on-one to keep it 3-3.
Q 28Which former England captain co-owns the MLS club that signed Messi in 2023?
David Beckham
David Beckham's MLS playing contract gave him the option to buy an expansion team for a fixed fee; he used it to found Inter Miami, which began play in 2020 and signed Messi three years later.
Q 29Whom did Inter Miami beat in the 2023 Leagues Cup final, Messi's first US trophy?
Nashville SC
Nashville SC: Inter Miami won the 2023 Leagues Cup final 10-9 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Nashville, Messi scoring the opening goal and converting in the shootout, the club's first trophy.
Q 30Which trophy did Messi's Inter Miami win in 2024?
Supporters' Shield
The Supporters' Shield goes to the team with MLS's best regular-season record; Miami's 74 points beat New England's 73 from 2021, yet they lost in the first round of the playoffs.