Where Does Messi Play?

Often hailed as the Greatest Football player of all time, Lionel Messi has been someone the stars would align for, solo’s, free kicks, penalty, outside the box, inside the box, you name it, he has scored it all. 

A nightmare for Madrid fans, they had to endure this for over a decade. Even when he was past his prime, he still created deadly chances for the opposition. 

You might have seen him play or heard, but here is one interesting thing about Lionel Messi: he never plays in one single position 

Here, let me explain

Which Position Does Messi Play In Inter Miami? 

Currently, Messi plays for Inter Miami as an attacker/Forward.

At Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS), Messi plays a free-roaming playmaker role, often positioned as 

• Central Attacking Midfielder (CAM) in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation

• Sometimes False 9 in a fluid front line

• Right-sided Inverted Playmaker, cutting inside onto his favoured left foot

He is seen in many formations playing in that Centre-Forward role is known for, he is also seen playing a little deep sometimes, which often describes the Centre-Attacking Midfielder role. He often played this CAM role during his last years at Barcelona. 

Sometimes, a false 9 would also be on his radar when he sees the opportunity. 

He goes in deep, receives the ball, and then plays it forward, A typical Messi trait we saw during his prime Barcelona era. Obviously, his quality has decreased, but well he does excel in that role still and is better than most of the current players as a false 9. 

One thing is clear at Inter Miami: his pace is gone, but he makes it up with dribbling, vision, and playmaking, and by scoring set pieces. 

Which position does Messi play in Argentina? 

For Argentina Messi is often seeing roaming around the field wherever he likes, he takes in the positon of the players for the first 5-10 minutes just by roaming around the field, he gets a good analysis about his opponent team, their weak spots and tries to open up spaces attacking those weak spots. 

To be more accurate, Messi occupies that CAM (Centre-Attacking-Midfielder) role for the Argentine National team. 

He operates behind strikers like Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez. 

His notable role for the Argentine national team includes dropping deeper to collect the ball, linking midfield to attack, creating chances through tight defence lines, and playing closer to centre and less on the wing so that he can easily 1-2 link with the attackers. 

But sometimes he was also seen playing in that Right-Wing position. This was all down to his 2015 Barcelona days, when he played in that position for Barcelona to accommodate Luis Suarez as a striker and Neymar as a Left-Winger. However, this position got carried forward to the Argentine National team, and in 2016, he was often seen playing in that position. 

Ok, now comes his time at Barcelona, which itself is very interesting 

Messi’s Playing position at Barcelona 

During his legendary career at FC Barcelona from 2004 to 2021, Lionel Messi played primarily as a right winger, a false nine, and later as a central attacking playmaker. He initially broke into the first team as a dynamic right-sided forward, using his close control, pace, and left-footed precision to cut inside and threaten the goal. Under Pep Guardiola (2008–2012), Messi’s position shifted dramatically to a “false 9” — a withdrawn central striker role — where he would drop deep into midfield to create space, dictate tempo, and initiate attacks, while still scoring prolifically. This tactical innovation made him the focal point of Barcelona’s iconic tiki-taka system.

As he matured and the squad evolved, particularly in the post-Neymar and post-Guardiola eras, Messi adopted a freer role — often playing as a central or right-sided attacking midfielder, orchestrating play from deeper positions while still leading in goals and assists. His positional flexibility, combined with his vision, dribbling, and finishing, allowed him to redefine traditional roles and become the most influential figure in Barcelona’s history

Below is a graph showing how Messi’s Position  evolved over time

Era	Club/National Team	Primary Position
2004–2008	FC Barcelona	Right Winger
2009–2013	FC Barcelona	False 9 (Central Forward)
2014–2017	FC Barcelona/Argentina	Right Forward / Inverted Winger
2018–2021	Barcelona / Argentina	Hybrid: Playmaker + Forward
2021–2023	Paris Saint-Germain	Right Attacker / Secondary Striker
2023–2025	Inter Miami / Argentina	Attacking Midfielder / Deep Playmaker

That's it, guys.

He is an alien who can play in any position, but it has to be forward. Do not put him as a defender in FIFA. HE IS NOT A DEFENDER!!!!!!