Konami has announced today that Argentinean forward Lionel Messi is to be the face of its forthcoming PES 2009. Messi is ever-present in both the Argentinean national side and for his club, FC Barcelona. He moved to Barcelona when he was just 13, working his way through the Catalan FC Barcelona’s youth and reserve teams and making his full debut in October 2004 as the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish top flight. He made his debut for Argentina against Hungary in 2005, and has been a permanent member of the squad ever since.

“Most modern players are aware of the realism and skill of the PES series,” commented Messi on the deal. “It is a game that truly mirrors the pace and control of real football, and as a die-hard fan of the series, I am delighted to be working with Konami on the latest version.” Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?

As part of the new agreement, Messi will get his pretty little face pasted on the box of all versions of PES 2009 when it is released later this year, and will also feature in promotional materials for the game.

In other PES news, Konami today confirmed that it is to expand its PES 2009 line-up with the release of both a mobile and Wii version of the game.

PES 2009 for the Wii, set for a spring 09 release, will feature an enhanced control and defensive systems along with a reworked AI. However, despite these additions, the focus is to make the Wii version as accessible as possible.

The mobile version of PES 2009 will be released alongside home versions this fall. The new edition offers multiplayer via Bluetooth and refines the one-button control system of last year’s game.