Argentina sings collective happy birthday to Messi

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters): Moved by Lionel Messi’s record-breaking form at the World Cup, Argentines have taken to the streets ​and social media to sing “Happy Birthday” to their favourite ‌footballer who turned 39 on Wednesday.

Under the hashtag CumpleLEO, Telefé, a local television channel, launched a campaign for Argentines to sing “Happy Birthday” to him ​at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time, an ​allusion to the number 10 shirt worn by the ⁠Argentina captain.

Waving Argentine flags, groups of friends at the gym, ​children in schools, shop employees and neighbours gathered around the country ​and filled social media with messages of congratulations.

“Thank you for so much joy and for representing Argentina at the highest level. Happy birthday, champion!” ​posted a group of workers from a car dealership in ​the province of Buenos Aires.

Another group of fans arrived at the iconic ‌Obelisk ⁠in downtown Buenos Aires.

“I’ve been here since 6:00 this morning,” 71-year-old Rubén Acosta told Reuters. “I love Messi. He’s an alien. Messi, you’re one of a kind. You’re not from this planet. ​You came from ​another galaxy.”

President Javier ⁠Milei also congratulated Messi, writing on his X account “HAPPY BIRTHDAY L10NEL…!!! LET’S GO ARGENTINA DAMN ​IT…!!!.”

Messi, an eight-times Ballon d’Or winner, became the ​all-time leading ⁠scorer in World Cup history on Monday and he has scored five goals in two matches at the tournament.

Argentina coach Lionel ⁠Scaloni had ​a simple birthday wish for his ​team’s talisman.

“That he be happy,” Scaloni said.