Messi also proved the "new Maradona" tag was not all hype, by nearly replicating Maradona's most famous goals in the space of the single season. Messi shortly before scoring a goal against Getafe Rijkaard's Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and Europe. His season ended prematurely on 7 March 2006, however, when he suffered a muscle tear in his right thigh during the second leg of the second round Champions League tie against Chelsea. Messi netted six goals in 17 league appearances, and scored one Champions League goal in six. Fans at Barcelona's stadium, the Camp Nou, gave Messi a standing ovation upon his substitution, as his composure on the ball and passing combinations with Ronaldinho had paid dividends for Barcelona. Messi's first home outing in the Champions League came on 27 September against Italian club Udinese. Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on 26 September 2005 and was finally able to make his debut in the season's Spanish First Division.
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On 16 September, for the second time in three months, Barcelona announced an update to Messi's contract this time it was improved to pay him as a first team member and extended until June 2014.
Messi said about his ex-coach Rijkaard: "I'll never forget the fact that he launched my career, that he had confidence in me while I was only sixteen or seventeen." During the season, Messi played also in Barcelona B ( Segunda División B) scoring 6 goals in 17 matches. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on, Messi was 17 years, ten months and seven days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for Barcelona until it was again broken by Bojan Krkić in 2007, scoring from a Messi assist. Less than a year after his start, Frank Rijkaard gave him his league debut against RCD Espanyol on 16 October 2004 (at 17 years and 114 days), becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for Barcelona and youngest club player who played in La Liga, which would be broken by Bojan Krkić in September 2007. Even before these two debuts, Messi made his official debut for the first-team on 16 November 2003 aged 16 years and 145 days, in a friendly match against Porto. He played for both teams during the season (ten matches, five goals and five games, zero goals, respectively).
Later he debuted for FC Barcelona C team ( Tercera División) on 29 November 2003 and for FC Barcelona B ( Segunda División B) on 6 March 2004. Season 2003–04 saw him on a record five different teams: He started one match in Juvenil B (one goal) and got promoted to Juvenil A (14 matches, 21 goals). Messi played in Barcelona's junior Infantil B and Cadete B & A teams from 2000 to 2003 (scoring 37 goals in 30 matches in Cadete A). Messi and his father moved to Barcelona where Messi enrolled in the club's youth academy. Barcelona offered to pay for Messi's medical bills if he was willing to move to Spain. Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered Messi a contract written on a paper napkin.
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Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, had been made aware of his talent as Messi had relatives in Lleida, and Messi and his father were able to arrange a trial with the team. Local powerhouse River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but were not willing to pay for treatment for his condition, which cost $900 a month. Īt the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. He became part of a local youth powerhouse that lost only one match in the next four years and became locally known as "The Machine of '87", from the year of their birth. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario. At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge. He has two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and a sister, María Sol. His paternal family originates from the Italian city of Ancona, from which his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883. Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, to parents Jorge Horácio Messi, a factory steel worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner.