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Lionel Messi celebrated his 36th birthday on Saturday (June 24), and his hometown of Rosario paid him a special tribute.
A caricature of the Argentine icon in his trademark celebration pose was lit up in the Rosario night sky along with a message. The message read:
"Felix Cumple Leo" which translates to "Happy Birthday Leo."
Messi posted a video of the beautiful tribute on Instagram story. He responded:
"Muchas gracis por el saludo," which translates to "thank you very much for the greeting."
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Argentina have not only been celebrating Lionel Messi's birthday recently. They have also been celebrating his dream of winning the FIFA World Cup finally being fulfilled.
Messi cemented his legacy in Qatar last year, captaining La Abiceleste to World Cup glory. He scored seven goals and provided three assists in seven games along the way.
The Inter Miami forward is viewed as a god in his homeland and rightfully so given his extraordinary career. The legendary attacker has lit up European football in the last two decades.
Lionel Messi became a Barcelona icon during 16 glorious seasons at the Camp Nou. He scored 672 goals and provided 303 assists in 778 games across competitions during his time with the Blaugrana. He won the UEFA Champions League four times, La Liga title on ten occasions and the Ballon d'Or six times with them.
The Argentina captain then headed to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 where he added two Ligue 1 titles to his trophy cabinet. He bagged 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 appearances at the Parc des Princes and also won a Ballon d'Or.
Messi is celebrating his 36th birthday in his hometown but will soon be heading to the United States. He has joined Inter Miami following the expiration of his contract with PSG.
The iconic forward has achieved everything in Europe and will now embark on a new adventure. Fans will no doubt still watch him every step of the way at the DRV PNK Stadium.
Their love and admiration for the Argentine hero are clear to see from the responses to the touching tribute from Rosario. One fan reacted:
"Only Messi can get this type of treatment."
Here's how Twitter reacted to the mesmerising display put on for Lionel Messi by his hometown:
Lionel Messi dedicated 2022 FIFA World Cup win to Diego Maradona
Argentina won the World Cup last year for the third time. They did it in style, winning perhaps the greatest final in history.
La Abiceleste beat France 4-2 on penalties after a frenetic 3-3 extra time draw. Lionel Messi bagged a brace, while his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick.
Messi finally followed in the footsteps of Argentine hero Diego Maradona by winning the World Cup. The late great Maradona won the tournament in 1986, and the icon bagged five goals during the campaign.
Messi dedicated the World Cup triumph in honour of Maradona who passed away in 2020. He wrote a heartfelt message to Argentine fans (via Marca):
"It also belongs to Diego (Maradona) who cheered us on from heaven. And of all those who always supported the national team without looking so much at the result but at the desire we always had, even when things did not work out the way we wanted them to."
Maradona was one of the greatest players to grace the game, with his extraordinary trickery. The ball simply never left the Napoli icon's feet. He scored 32 goals in 84 appearances for Argentina.
