Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only football player in history to win five FIFA Ballons d'Or, four of which he won consecutively, and the first player to win three European Golden Shoes. With Barcelona he has won eight La Ligas, four UEFA Champions Leagues, six Copas del Rey, three Supercopas de España, two Club World Cups, and reached a record-tying eleven Copa América finals. As a member of Argentina's national team, he has played in five FIFA World Cups (including 2014 where he was captain), winning a runners-up medal at Brazil 2014. An Olympic gold medalist at Beijing 2008, Messi also holds many other records including most goals scored in La Liga (438), most hat-tricks (56) and most assists (235).