Footy Trolls

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ( listen); born 24 June 1987), is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Orin 2010, and then again in 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 goals in La Liga. In September 2014, Messi scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged just 27.

Commonly ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time,^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, and the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups.

Messi is the first and only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League campaigns, and also holds the record for themost hat-tricks scored (4) in the competition. In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. He also matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season. Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals. Also in that season, Messi became the first player ever to score and assist in six different official competitions in one season. On 16 February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in a professional football league. He extended his record scoring streak to 21 consecutive league matches, and the run came to a halt only when he sustained a hamstring injury. In March 2014, with a hat-trick againstReal Madrid, Messi became the player with the most goals and most hat-tricks in the history of El Clásico.

Messi helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing as both the best player and the top scorer (with six goals). In2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the FIFA World Cup, and won a runners-up medal at the Copa América in 2007, in which he was named young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won an Olympic Gold Medal with theArgentina Olympic football team. At the 2014 World Cup, he led Argentina to the final, winning four consecutive Man of the Match awards in the process, and received the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament. In 2013, SportsPro rated him the second-most marketable athlete in the world.^[9] His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".^[10]

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾɨʃtiˈɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985), known asCristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and captainsthe Portugal national team.

Ronaldo became the world's most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in atransfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). Ronaldo's contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion. He is regarded by some in the sport to be currently the best player in the world,^[3][4][5][6] and one of the greatest of all time.^[7][8]

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. In 2003 he caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million). In 2004, he won his first trophy, the FA Cup.

In 2007, Ronaldo was the first player in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. In 2008 and 2013, he won theFIFA/Ballon d'Or award for the best footballer in the world, the first Portuguese player to win the award twice.^[9][10] He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in 2008, 2011 and 2014. In 2008, he won 3 of the 4 main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze d'Or.^[11][12][13] In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year in 2009. In a 2014 UEFA poll, he was named the greatest goalscorer to play in the UEFA Champions League.^[14] With 68 goals as of September 2014,^[15] he is tied second in the competition's top scorers of all time, only trailing Raúl by three goals. He also holds the record for most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season, scoring 17 goals in the 2013–14 season.

Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach 100 league goals, and the first player to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.^[16] He holds the record for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid. In January 2014, Ronaldo scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged 28.^[17]

Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in August 2003, at the age of 18. He has since been capped over 100 timesand has participated in 6 major tournaments: three UEFA European Championships (2004, 2008 and 2012) and three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014). Ronaldo is the first Portuguese player to reach 50 international goals, making himPortugal's top goalscorer of all time. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of Euro 2004 against Greece, and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over captaincy in July 2008, and at Euro 2012 he led Portugal to the semi-finals, finishing the competition as joint-top scorer in the process.