This Lionel Messi quiz has 50 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 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which Argentine city was Lionel Messi born in June 1987?
Rosario
The city on the Paraná River also produced Che Guevara and Ángel Di María. Messi started playing for local club Newell's Old Boys at seven.
Q 02At age ten Messi was diagnosed with what condition, which threatened his future in football?
A growth hormone deficiency
The treatment cost around $1,000 a month, which his family and Argentine clubs could not sustain.
Q 03Barcelona's first commitment to sign the 13-year-old Messi was famously written on what?
A paper napkin
Sporting director Carles Rexach had nothing else to hand at a tennis club. The napkin was later sold at auction for close to £800,000.
Q 04Which club in his home city did Messi play for from the age of seven before moving to Barcelona?
Newell's Old Boys
He scored hundreds of goals for the youth side nicknamed 'The Machine of '87'. Rosario Central are the club's fierce city rivals.
Q 05Which Barcelona star nicknamed the teenage Messi 'little brother' and eased his way into the first team?
Ronaldinho
The Brazilian also set up Messi's first senior goal on 1 May 2005, which made him the club's youngest-ever scorer at the time.
Q 06Messi scored his first senior Barcelona goal on 1 May 2005 against Albacete. What record did it set?
Youngest-ever scorer for the club at the time
He was 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old. Bojan Krkić broke the club record two years later.
Q 07Messi's first senior hat-trick, in March 2007, came against which opponent?
Real Madrid
It rescued a 3-3 draw in the Clásico and made him the first player to score three in that fixture in 12 years. He was 19.
Q 08Messi's 2007 goals against Getafe and Espanyol were compared to whose two most famous goals?
Diego Maradona
The Getafe slalom mirrored the 'Goal of the Century' and the Espanyol handball echoed the 'Hand of God', both from the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England.
Q 09Messi was handed Barcelona's number 10 shirt at the start of which season?
2008-09
It was Pep Guardiola's first season as manager and Ronaldinho had just left for AC Milan. Messi had worn 30 and then 19 before that.
Q 10In 2009 Barcelona became the first club to achieve what?
The sextuple
La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup, all in one calendar year. Messi won his first Ballon d'Or that December.
Q 11How many goals did Messi score in all competitions for club and country during the calendar year 2012?
91
It broke Gerd Müller's 40-year-old record of 85. Cristiano Ronaldo, at his peak the same year, managed 69.
Q 12How many Ballon d'Or awards has Messi won, a record?
Eight
The eighth, in 2023, followed the World Cup win. He also holds the record of six European Golden Shoes as the continent's top league scorer.
Q 13How many UEFA Champions League titles did Messi win with Barcelona?
Four
2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. Alongside them came 10 La Liga titles in a club-record haul of 34 trophies.
How many goals did Messi score for Barcelona in all competitions, the record for a single club?
Q 21Besides being jointly named Best Player, what award did Messi win at the 2021 Copa América?
The Golden Boot
Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in the final at the Maracanã, ending a 28-year wait for a major title.
Q 22Why did Barcelona say in August 2021 they could not re-sign Messi despite his 50% pay cut?
Financial constraints and La Liga's spending rules
The club's wage bill breached the league's salary cap. Messi wept through his farewell press conference two days before joining PSG.
Q 23What squad number did Messi choose when he joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021?
30
672
He also holds the La Liga records for goals (474) and assists (192).
Q 15Barcelona's 2009 Champions League win over Manchester United completed which landmark?
The first treble in Spanish football history
Six trophies followed in the calendar year, the sextuple. In 2015 Barcelona became the first European club to win the treble a second time.
Q 16At the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, Messi finished with six goals and which award?
The Golden Ball
He also took the Golden Shoe as top scorer as Argentina won the tournament in the Netherlands, beating Nigeria in the final.
Q 17Messi won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina's under-23s in 2008. Whom did they beat in the final?
Nigeria
Barcelona had tried to stop him going to Beijing; new coach Pep Guardiola let him travel, which helped win the player's loyalty.
Q 18Messi's dual citizenship made him eligible for which national team besides Argentina?
Spain
Spain approached him about switching allegiance; Argentina hurried to cap him at youth level in 2004 to close the door.
Q 19At the 2014 World Cup, Argentina lost the final to Germany, but Messi still received which award?
The Golden Ball
He looked miserable collecting it. Eight years later he became the first player ever to win it twice.
Q 20After captaining Argentina to three straight lost finals (2014–16), what did Messi announce in 2016?
His retirement from international football
He had missed a penalty in the Copa América Centenario shootout against Chile. He reversed the decision within weeks.
It was the number he wore as a Barcelona teenager; Neymar kept the 10 at PSG. The contract was for two years with an option for a third.
Q 24The 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France was played at which venue?
Lusail
The 88,000-seat ground north of Doha was built for the tournament. The match finished 3-3 before Argentina won the shootout 4-2.
Q 25Which France player scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final and still finished on the losing side?
Kylian Mbappé
He was only the second man to score three in a World Cup final, after Geoff Hurst in 1966, and the first to lose one.
Q 26What did Messi become the first player ever to do at the 2022 World Cup?
Win a second Golden Ball
He had won it in 2014 too. He also scored twice in the final, one from the spot and one from close range in extra time.
Q 27How did Argentina win the 2022 World Cup final after a 3-3 draw?
4-2 on penalties
Emiliano Martínez saved from Kingsley Coman after a spot of gamesmanship, and Gonzalo Montiel struck the winning kick.
Q 28Which MLS club signed Messi in July 2023?
Inter Miami
The deal was for two and a half years, and his number 10 shirt promptly became the best-selling jersey in the league.
Q 29Messi's first trophy in the United States, in 2023, was the Leagues Cup. Whom did his club beat in the final?
Nashville SC
It was the club's first trophy of any kind, and Messi scored in the final and converted in the shootout.
Q 30In 2024 Messi's club won the Supporters' Shield with a record MLS regular-season points total. How many?
74
The old record was 73. Messi was named league MVP that year and again the next, the first player to win it in back-to-back seasons.