A look at the life and times of Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi who has just won the Ballon d'Or.

1987: June 24 - Born Lionel Andres Messi in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.

1995: Joins Newell's Old Boys.

1998: Diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at age of 11.

2000: Moves to Barcelona, aged 13, and quickly works his way up the youth ranks and into the first team.

2003: November 16 - Makes first-team debut in friendly at Porto at the age of 16.

2004: October 16 - Appears in first official Barca match, aged 17, in 1-0 derby win at Espanyol.

2005: May 1 - Becomes youngest player to score for Barcelona by netting against Albacete.

June - Helps Argentina to World Youth Championship triumph in Holland. Messi is competition's top scorer and is named player of the tournament.

August 17 - Makes full Argentina debut as second-half substitute in Hungary, only to be shown a red card within two minutes.

September - Granted EU passport by Spanish government.

2006: May - Helps Barca retain Primera Liga title and win Champions League, although he misses out on European Cup final win over Arsenal in Paris due to thigh injury.

June 16 - Becomes youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup with substitute appearance against Serbia & Montenegro. Also nets final goal in 6-0 win to become fifth youngest goalscorer in World Cup history.

June 30 - Left on bench by coach Jose Pekerman for quarter-final against Germany, which Argentina lose 4-2 on penalties.

November 12 - Ruled out for three months with foot injury.

2007: April 18 - Scores a spectacular individual goal - reminiscent of Diego Maradona's second goal against England at the 1986 World Cup - as Barca beat Getafe 5-2 in Copa del Rey semi-finals.

July - Named Young Player of the Tournament after helping Argentina to Copa America final, where they lose to Brazil.

December 2 - Finishes third behind Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in Ballon d'Or voting.

December 13 - Again misses out to Kaka, this time finishing second to the Brazilian in FIFA World Player of the Year poll.

2008: July 3 - Included in Argentina squad for Olympic Games in Beijing, prompting protracted dispute between the Argentinian federation and Barcelona. Barca want the player available for Champions League qualifiers in August.

August 7 - Barca announce they will allow Messi to remain with Argentina squad for the duration of the Olympics despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling that clubs do not have to release players because the Games do not appear on the official FIFA calendar.

August 23 - Insists all the controversy over his selection for Olympics had been worth it after helping Argentina to back-to-back gold medals. The 21-year-old plays a starring role in the tournament and has a leading role in the 1-0 victory over Nigeria in the final in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium.

December 2 - Finishes second behind Ronaldo in Ballon d'Or voting.

2009: May 27 - Scores second goal as Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 to win Champions League final in Rome. Also helps Barca win the Primera Division and Copa del Rey titles in an unprecedented treble.

October 14: Helps Argentina reach the World Cup finals with 1-0 win in Uruguay.

December 1: Wins Ballon d'Or.