Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Most people agree that the most skillful football player on the planet currently is Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo might be a more complete athlete, but Messi's footwork and creativity leaves him in a class of his own. Winner of the Ballon D'Or and FIFA World Player of the year 2009, Messi continues to stun spectators and opposition teams alike with his  brilliance.

Messi's greatness lies partly in the fact that he creates and scores in equal measure. In the all conquering Barcelona team of the last year and a half, Messi, Henry and Eto'o worked interchangeably through the season to create a world record of over 100 goals. This season, with Ibrahimovic, it seems to be working just as well.

Messi is Argentinian by birth, and the comparisons to Maradona are both inevitable and well deserved. At 11 he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. River Plate was unable to sustain his treatment at $900/month. Barcelona were able and interested, and so the Messi family moved to Spain, and Messi's long-term allegience to Barcelona was assured. It was probably the best investment the club has made in the past 20 years.

Messi went on to become the youngest player to play for and score for Barcelona (though Bojan Krkic broke both records). Currently on contract till 2016, and with a 250 million Euro buyout clause, Messi is also at present the highest paid footballer in the La Liga. He has more than made up the gap left by Ronaldinho by becoming the creative force for Barcelona.

The Maradona comparison has many angles. His height, marginally more than El Diego, is a start. But his footwork and control at high-speed is the clincher, really. His goal against Valencia where he dribbled past half the team starting from the halfway line is a carbon copy of Maradona's famous feet of god goal against England. Not content with that, he went on to emulate the hand-of-god goal as well. In the penultimate game of the 06-07 season, against Espanyol, Messi scored the first of his two goals by knocking it in with his hand. Could he be more Maradona like??

Messi plays for the "team of the decade" - the all-conquering Barcelona. Which could win a lot more trophies going forward, but Messi will continue to be their most corruscating gem. His continued improvement was underscored with his headed goal in the Champions League final where he climbed high, albeit unmarked, to head over Edwin Van Der Saar to seal Barca's victory in the Champions League.

For Argentina, Messi has had a roller-coaster time. He did well in the youth team winning the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe in the World Youth Championships in 2005. His first appearance for the senior team was less auspicious - he came on in the 63rd minute and was sent off within 2 minutes. He went on to earn the #10 jersey for Argentina. In the World Cup 06, he missed the first game but played the rest till he was left out for the Semi Final against Germany, which Argentina lost. He was the star of the Copa America 07 though Argentina lost to Brazil in the final. He also led from the front in the 2008 Olympics where Argenina managed to beat Brazil in the Semis and Nigeria in the finals to win gold. In the 2010 campaign, Argentina have struggled in their qualification and Maradona has been accused of not using Messi effectively.

Messi has a girlfriend - Antonella Roccuzzo and there are plans to wed in the end of 2010.