Soccer star Lionel Messi is one of the most famous and highest-paid athletes in the world, but it wasn’t always that way. This biography traces Messi’s footsteps from his middle-class neighborhood in Rosario, Argentina, to the soccer fields of Europe. Readers will learn of his introduction to a game that would make him rich, his early promise despite his small stature, the medical crisis that nearly derailed his career, and his move from home at thirteen to train in faraway Spain. Vivid photographs and sidebars that detail his distinguished career take readers on a fascinating journey. Along the way, readers will discover the secrets of Messi’s success and what’s next for the soccer star.