News Lionel Messi joins the world of Audemars Piguet. Understandably proud to be welcoming him, Audemars Piguet CEO Philippe Merk salutes the arrival of this exceptional personality who has successively overcome life’s various trials to reach the peak of his art.
From his earliest childhood in Argentina, Lionel Messi enjoyed kicking a ball through the streets of his hometown of Rosario. His family quickly sensed «Leo’s» potential, but when he was just 10 years old, a doctor diagnosed a hormonal disease that affected the growth of this budding player. After researching which Argentinean club could help him to develop his football career, Leo’s family enrolled him for recruitment testing at FC Barcelona in Spain. He was admitted to the Masia, the Barça training centre, which agreed to cover his training as well as his medical care expenses. In 2001, the entire family therefore left Argentina to settle in Catalonia in order to follow Messi’s first steps on the Camp Nou football pitch. Lionel Messi is currently a striker for the legendary FC Barcelona and for his national team, where he wears the legendary N°10 shirt - the emblematic number of the world’s greatest footballers.
He is undeniably gifted with an amazing set of qualities. He handles the ball with incredible skill and dribbles his opponents with disconcerting ease. Messi is a complete, fast and creative player with a smart sense of the game that is universally recognised by his peers. In 2009, this determined and passionate young man was rewarded by a string of titles and distinctions: FIFA World Player of the Year, the Golden Ball award and Player of the Spanish League.
«Lionel Messi is an exceptional man, the greatest player of his generation. This young and talented athlete not only embodies pure sporting genius, but also the courage and the determination of a man who fights against all odds to pursue his dreams. Above and beyond his intrinsic value, we are welcoming a big-hearted man with valuable human qualities into the Audemars Piguet family», said Philippe Merk.
May 26, 2010
