Despite his youth, Argentina's Lionel Messi (born in 1987) is already considered one of the greatest players in the history of soccer. Messi has amassed an impressive list of titles and trophies, and that list seems certain to grow in the coming years. But this international star didn't have an easy road to the top: he surmounted some difficult obstacles. The life of Lionel Messi is a testament to talent, sacrifice, love, pain, and hope. It is a story in which a single decision would change a destiny, a story in which the burning desire to play soccer would carry a desperate young man to heights he never dared imagine. Lionel Messi has shown the world that with grit and perseverance, nothing is impossible.