Messi turns – Lionel Messi turned 39 on June 24 in Rosario, Argentina, and while his father’s medical situation remains private, the day carried another kind of gift: the country’s enduring devotion as he prepares to help Argentina defend its World Cup title and add a fourt
ARLINGTON, TX — Lionel Messi is celebrating his birthday on June 24, exactly 39 years after he was born in Rosario, Argentina. His résumé already reads like a roadmap of football history: he has lifted the World Cup once. won the Copa América twice. and has been named the winner of the Ballon d’Or eight times as the best player in the world. This week, he also became the all-time leading scorer in FIFA World Cups.
For Argentina’s manager Lionel Scaloni, the gift request was almost simple. When asked what he would give Messi for his birthday, Scaloni said there was nothing he could offer other than “What I imagine we all want: For him to be happy.”
That happiness, for Messi, comes wrapped in more than match-day pressure. He is dealing with many emotions as he prepares to help his nation defend its World Cup title and add a fourth star over the “AFA” badge. At the center of his off-field concern is his father’s medical situation. The family has asked that it remain private after a television host erroneously claimed on air that Jorge had died.
There are rare moments in sports when a player’s value cannot be measured in trophies, goals, or broken records. Messi’s birthday has turned into one of them. Argentina’s love. his name being sung decades from now. and the way his face shows up across the country are the “gift” that stays even if a campaign ends early. Even were Argentina’s World Cup run to end in the Round of 32. Messi’s name will still be echoed for generations—similar to how Diego Maradona’s name continues to resonate in stadiums. fan events. and across World Cup cities where Argentina supporters set up temporary residence.
As social media mentions pour in and his teammates celebrate with him at base camp, the day lands on a life that has had both dazzling heights and painful breaks. It was not always this way.
After a painful defeat to Chile in the 2016 Copa América Centenario final, Messi retired from the national team. He was the centerpiece of a team that lost the 2014 World Cup final. the 2015 Copa América final. and the 2016 game at MetLife Stadium—the final two matches decided on penalty kicks with Messi missing his kick in the 2016 contest. In the locker room, he said he thought, “That’s it. The national team is over for me.” He added. “What I feel right now. what I think. is a huge sadness that this has happened to us again.”.
The disappointment didn’t stay in the stands. A statue of Messi on a “walk of fame” featuring a number of famous Argentines was chopped down by upset fans. and other images of him throughout the country were vandalized. For a period. the feeling among some supporters was that he would never be able to deliver what Argentina wanted most: trophies that prove the team is the best in South America and the world.
That moment passed, making room for the kind of joy that can only be understood by people who have waited through years of heartbreak. Argentina, in a team dependent on one player, when it succeeds, does so largely through him.
Even after losing to eventual champion France in the first knockout game of the 2018 tournament. Messi began trying to rebuild trust with the corners of the Argentine fan base that had questioned him—labelling him a “pecho frio. ” a player said to lack drive and heart. After he put his emotions on his sleeve and then returned to try again. the relationship changed. and he earned respect from the Argentine public.
The turning point grew bigger in 2021. when Messi scored four goals and was named Best Player. finally leading Argentina to a Copa América. That achievement carried into 2022. when Messi delivered the biggest trophy many Argentines had ever lived to see—pushing the Albiceleste to a win over France in the final of the World Cup and bringing home the first title since Maradona did it in 1986.
That victory secured more than a place in the record books. It locked Messi into the hearts of Argentines, alongside Maradona and Pope Francis as an eternal icon. His face is visible everywhere in Argentina now. rarely vandalized. often tattooed onto fans’ skin—an imprint that comes from admiration strong enough that people want his image with them permanently.
With this being his “last tango. ” Messi’s bond with the country feels like something that goes beyond rivalries. social classes. or any other division. His birthday is celebrated. but so are anniversaries of important triumphs. beautiful goals. and personal milestones—dates that have become seared into the memory of both hardcore supporters and casual fans.
Even on his own birthday, Messi’s mind stayed on training. Just before the clock hid midnight in Argentina on June 24. he published a video of himself training. pushing to get better even as he turns 39. It would be easy to reduce his wish to a perfect group stage—maybe a win over Jordan or another World Cup trophy next month. As an athlete, he is certainly pushing for those achievements.
But the deeper reality is simpler: he has what he wants already. with the bond now so strong between him and the country he left as a young boy that he does not have to ask for anything else. Only Messi knows whether Scaloni’s wish for true happiness can be fulfilled. What is clear is what he carries with him—love from a country of more than 46 million people. millions more fans worldwide. and the knowledge that. across a career shaped by immense highs and public lows. he has done more than enough for that love to never fade.
Lionel Messi birthday June 24 39 Argentina World Cup Lionel Scaloni Inter Miami FIFA World Cups all-time leading scorer Copa América 2021 World Cup 2022 France final MetLife Stadium 2016 Jorge Messi medical situation