Leo Messi birthday this friday 35 yearsage at which he will play his fifth World Cup and will seek for the first time to become world champion with the absolute after having won the Final in 2022the Copa América in 2021, the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the Sub’23 and the 2005 Netherlands Sub’20 World Cup.
Of his last 17 birthdays, the Flea celebrated four in World Cups, four in Copa Américas (another two days before the start of a Copa América) and one in a youth World Cup.
The change in the date of the World Cup in Qatar, which will be played in November and December, allowed the Albiceleste captain to celebrate this birthday without being focused on his country’s team.
Messi’s first birthday with the Argentine shirt was in 2005, during the 2005 Netherlands Under-20 World Cup.
The following year, he celebrated turning 19 by beating Mexico 2-1 in the round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
His 20th birthday was two days before the start of the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela.
The 21 and 22 celebrated without the Albiceleste.
On his 23rd birthday there was a special guest: Diego Armando Maradona.
In 2010, Argentina had the world champion in Mexico 1986 as coach during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In that tournament, Messi celebrated the anniversary of his birth two days after beating Greece (2-0) on the last day of the group stage and three days before beating Mexico (3-1) in the round of 16.
The 24 were celebrated a week before the start of the 2011 Copa América in Argentina.
During his 25th and 26th birthdays he did not play any tournament with Albiceleste.
But in 2014 he had to blow out the candles again during an official competition: the World Cup in Brazil. Messi had his birthday during the group stage, one day before the last game against Nigeria (2-3 victory, with two goals from ‘la Pulga’). The 28 came during the 2015 Copa América in Chile: between the group stage and the victory on penalties against Colombia (5-4) after a goalless draw in regulation time. The 29 were celebrated two days before the final of the Copa America Centenario 2016.
After three years in a row celebrating his birthday in tournaments with Argentina, Messi turned 30 without being in the middle of a tournament with his country’s team.
The following year was different. The 31 came to Messi during the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, three days after the painful loss against Croatia 0-3 and two days before the agonizing victory against Nigeria (1-2 with a goal from Messi) that gave the classification to Argentina.
In 2019, Messi celebrated his birthday number 32 en Brazil between the group stage and the quarterfinals of the Copa América in Brazil.
In 2020 he spent his birthday without the national team and in 2021 in the middle of the group stage of the Copa América in Brazil.
The 35-year-old, the age at which he will play the World Cup in Qatar, spends them on vacation with his family and friends.
