Lionel Messi's Most Inspirational Quotes: A Collection to Motivate and Empower

"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it"

- Lionel Messi

"Allow yourselves to dream and then chase after those dreams. That will always require effort and sacrifice, but be persistent!"

- Lionel Messi

"I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success."

- Lionel Messi

"I start early, and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success"

- Lionel Messi

"I always thought that if you want to be the best, you have to work harder than everyone else"

- Lionel Messi

"It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success"

- Lionel Messi

"I prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else. I'm more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When all this is over, what are you left with? When I retire, I hope I am remembered for being a decent guy"

- Lionel Messi

"I have many years to get better and better, and that has to be my ambition. The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player."

- Lionel Messi

"I’m never satisfied. I always push my limits and I always try to get better every day."

- Lionel Messi

"I always thought I wanted to play professionally, and I always knew that to do that I'd have to make a lot of sacrifices. I made sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a new life. I changed my friends, my people. Everything. But everything I did, I did for football, to achieve my dream."

- Lionel Messi

"Whether it’s a friendly match, or for points, or a final, or any game – I play the same. I’m always trying to be my best, first for my team, for myself, for the fans, and to try and win"

- Lionel Messi

"I prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else. I'm more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When all this is over, what are you left with? When I retire, I hope I am remembered for being a decent guy."

- Lionel Messi

"Whether it's a friendly match, or for points, or a final, or any game - I play the same. I'm always trying to be my best, first for my team, for myself, for the fans, and to try and win."

- Lionel Messi

"Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits, and get on with trying to win."

- Lionel Messi

"Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn’t thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I’m just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing"

- Lionel Messi

"Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn't paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing."

- Lionel Messi

"Every year I try to grow as a player and not get stuck in a rut. I try to improve my game in every way possible. But that trait is not something I've worked on, it's part of me."

- Lionel Messi

"Many times, failure is part of the road and also helps us learn. Without the lows, it’s impossible for success to come."

- Lionel Messi

"You can overcome anything, if only you love something enough."

- Lionel Messi

"You can overcome anything, if and only if you love something enough"

- Lionel Messi

"You cannot allow your desire to be a winner to be diminished by achieving success before and I believe there is room for improvement in every sportsman."

- Lionel Messi

"I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I'm not enjoying it, I will leave football."

- Lionel Messi

"Sometimes you have to accept you can't win all the time"

- Lionel Messi

"You cannot allow your desire to be a winner to be diminished by achieving success before, and I believe there is room for improvement in every sportsman."

- Lionel Messi

"Every year I try to grow as a player and not get stuck in a rut. I try to improve my game in every way possible."

- Lionel Messi

"Everything. But everything I did, I did for football, to achieve my dream"

- Lionel Messi

"I’m lucky to be part of a team who help to make me look good, and they deserve as much of the credit for my success as I do for the hard work we have all put in on the training ground."

- Lionel Messi

"I’m more worried about being a good person than the world’s best player."

- Lionel Messi

"I've always really just liked football, and I've always devoted a lot of time to it. When I was a kid, my friends would call me to go out with them, but I would stay home because I had practice the next day"

- Lionel Messi

"I'm lucky to be part of a team who help to make me look good, and they deserve as much of the credit for my success as I do for the hard work we have all put in on the training ground"

- Lionel Messi

"I never think about the individual awards. The most important thing is the team and winning trophies"

- Lionel Messi

"There is nothing more satisfying than when you are on the field and you score a goal and help your team win. It doesn’t matter if I am not playing well, as long as we are winning"

- Lionel Messi

"I never think about the record. I only think about winning the match"

- Lionel Messi

"I want to concentrate on winning things with Barcelona and Argentina. Then if people want to say nice things about me when I have retired, great. Right now, I need to concentrate on being part of a team - not just on me"

- Lionel Messi

"Being named among the best at something is special and beautiful. But if there are no titles, nothing is won"

- Lionel Messi

"I left my family, my friends, my people to start a new life. Everything that I did was for soccer, to achieve my dream."

- Lionel Messi

"I always thought I wanted to play professionally, and I always knew that to do that I’d have to make a lot of sacrifices."

- Lionel Messi

"I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success."

- Lionel Messi

"I’ve liked football since I was a kid and I’ve always dreamt of becoming a professional footballer. I never thought of any other job."

- Lionel Messi

"I’ve always dreamed of being a World Champion and I didn’t want to stop trying, even knowing that maybe it could never happen."

- Lionel Messi

"Whether it’s a friendly match, or for points, or a final, or any game—I play the same. I’m always trying to be my best, first for my team, for myself, for the fans, and to try and win."

- Lionel Messi

"Football has been my life since I was a kid. My style remains the same, I love every single minute I get on the pitch. I know I have a great responsibility, and that there are objectives to accomplish, but I try to have fun too, because that’s what I love to do."

- Lionel Messi

"Everything that’s happened to me in my career has been special, even the tough times: they leave marks on you that shape your life."

- Lionel Messi

"Little by little, I’m getting better all the time. I’ve not lost the passion to play."

- Lionel Messi

"I repeat what I always say: I want the best for Argentina in every way. I never try to make trouble for anybody."

- Lionel Messi

"To be honest, I never realized it. I never really wondered if I was going to be really good or not. I just wanted to make my dream come true."

- Lionel Messi

"I've never stopped being Argentine, and I've never wanted to. I feel very proud of being Argentine, even though I left there. I've been clear about this since I was very young, and I never wanted to change."

- Lionel Messi

"Every time I start a year, I start with the objective of trying to achieve everything, without comparing it to how I’ve done in other seasons."

- Lionel Messi

"On a personal note, I think it won't be until after I've retired that I'm fully aware of what I've done or what I've gone on to achieve in my career."

- Lionel Messi

"I want to concentrate on winning things with Barcelona and Argentina. Then if people want to say nice things about me when I have retired, great. Right now, I need to concentrate on being part of a team - not just on me."

- Lionel Messi

"When the year starts the objective is to win it all with the team, personal records are secondary."

- Lionel Messi

"I've always really just liked football, and I've always devoted a lot of time to it. When I was a kid, my friends would call me to go out with them, but I would stay home because I had practice the next day."

- Lionel Messi

"I'm lucky to be part of a team who help to make me look good, and they deserve as much of the credit for my success as I do for the hard work we have all put in on the training ground."

- Lionel Messi

"The truth is that I don't have a favourite goal. I remember important goals more than I do favourite goals, like goals in the Champions League where I had the opportunity to have scored in both finals I have played in. Finals in the World Cup or Copa del Rey are the ones that have stayed with me for longer or that I remember more."

- Lionel Messi

"The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your instincts."

- Lionel Messi

"For my part, I try to do my bit to make people's lives more bearable, in particular children across the globe who are having problems."

- Lionel Messi

"In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision."

- Lionel Messi

"When the year starts the objective is to win it all with the team, personal records are secondary"

- Lionel Messi

"You have to show up in the World Cup, and in the World Cup anything can happen."

- Lionel Messi

"What I do is play soccer, which is what I like."

- Lionel Messi

"There's nothing more satisfying than seeing a happy and smiling child. I always help in any way I can, even if it's just by signing an autograph. A child's smile is worth more than all the money in the world."

- Lionel Messi

"I never think about the play or visualize anything. I do what comes to me at that moment. Instinct. It has always been that way."

- Lionel Messi

"I am competitive and I feel bad when we lose. You can see it in me when we've lost. I'm in a bad way. I don't like to talk to anyone."

- Lionel Messi

"Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thanks to God for this gift."

- Lionel Messi

"It seems like people want to blame me for everything. Whenever any issue arises, I'm said to have been involved even if I've had nothing to do with it. That's why I always focus on what I know, which is playing football, and try to be very careful with what I say because people always try and twist things."

- Lionel Messi

"The truth is my idea has been to always stay at Barcelona and see out the rest of my career here. Like I always say, one doesn't know what can happen in the future, but if it were up to me to decide, I would stay at Barcelona for the rest of my career."

- Lionel Messi

"It's scoring goals that's great, whether against Brazil or anybody else."

- Lionel Messi

"Being named among the best at something is special and beautiful. But if there are no titles, nothing is won."

- Lionel Messi

"I never think about the play or visualize anything. I do what comes to me at that moment. Instinct. It has always been that way"

- Lionel Messi

"The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your instinct"

- Lionel Messi

"I made sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a new life. I changed my friends, my people."

- Lionel Messi

"I go out and do the best I can in each game, and I don’t think about the fouls other players will commit or whether I might be injured. It only harms you to worry about those things."

- Lionel Messi

"I’ve always really just liked football, and I’ve always devoted a lot of time to it. When I was a kid, my friends would call me to go out with them, but I would stay home because I had practice the next day."

- Lionel Messi

"Just to hear people saying and thinking that [that he’s the best player of all time] makes me very proud indeed. But I try not to think about it too much and just focus on enjoying everything that I have in this life."

- Lionel Messi

"There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a happy and smiling child. I always help in any way I can, even if it’s just by signing an autograph. A child’s smile is worth more than all the money in the world."

- Lionel Messi

"When I retire, I want to be remembered as a good guy."

- Lionel Messi

"I would change all my Ballon d’Ors for a World Cup."

- Lionel Messi

"After saying I was retiring from the national team, I thought about it and realized I was sending the wrong message to people that fought for their dreams."

- Lionel Messi

"I came, I saw, I conquered"

- Lionel Messi

"I’ve understood that life isn’t just soccer."

- Lionel Messi

"People may imagine anything, but I’m just as normal as anyone. I’ve been raised one way since I was a kid, with values that stemmed from my parents and later I reinforced all of that in Barcelona, a club with very clear values. I grew up with that philosophy. I don’t have many friends, but they are real friends. Then I’ve always had my family, and I feel happy when I spend time with them and my friends."

- Lionel Messi

"Being a bit famous now gives me the opportunity to help people who really need it, especially children."

- Lionel Messi

"There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game"

- Lionel Messi

"It doesn’t matter if I am better than Cristiano Ronaldo, all that matters is that Barcelona are better than Real Madrid."

- Lionel Messi

"When I’m in the car on the way to training, I always drive as calmly as possible. I enjoy the drive, actually. It’s nice to have that bit of time before training to relax, alone with my thoughts. It’s the same before a game. I always go the same route, too, because it helps me concentrate."

- Lionel Messi

"I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I'm not enjoying it, I will leave football"

- Lionel Messi

"I want my kids to do whatever makes them happy."

- Lionel Messi

"I am a normal person. I have the same life as any human being. When I finish playing, doing my work, I have my family, my friends, and I live like any other person."

- Lionel Messi

"I’m used to there being a lot of people being around for photoshoots and videos, as well as all the football. I can see all the preparation that goes into it. It just becomes part of normal life. It’s nice to see so many people around and ready to work. Do I like it? It’s what life’s about. There’s no other way."

- Lionel Messi

"What I do is play soccer, which is what I like"

- Lionel Messi

"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it."

- Lionel Messi

"You can overcome anything, if and only if you love something enough."

- Lionel Messi

"Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win."

- Lionel Messi

"The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your instinct."

"A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of the sheep."

"I always want more. Whether it’s a goal, or winning a game, I’m never satisfied."

"Money is not a motivating factor…My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn’t paid to be a professional footballer, I would willingly play for nothing."

"There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game."

"When the year starts, the objective is to win with all the team, personal records are secondary."

"Sometimes you have to accept you can’t win all the time."