“Happy birthday to the greatest” - David Beckham sends birthday greetings to Lionel Messi; Argentina captain responds
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham has wished Argentina captain Lionel Messi on his 37th birthday. The Argentine - who is on Copa America 2024 duty - has responded to the wish.
Messi - widely regarded as the greatest player in the beautiful game's history - has been with the Herons since last summer, when he arrived on a free transfer after 19 seasons in European football. Most of them - 17 campaigns - were at Barcelona, while the other two were with PSG.
Having had an injury-plagued start to his 2024 season with Miami, Messi is with Albiceleste who are looking to become the first back-to-back Copa champions since Chile (2015-16).
Meanwhile, Beckham posted an image of himself and Messi and wrote on the Argentine's 37th birthday:
"Happy Birthday to the greatest. Happy Birthday my friend"
Messi duly responded (as translated from Spanish):
"Thank you very much David!"
Here's the screenshot of Beckham's message and Messi's reply:
Messi and Co. opened their Copa America title defence with a 2-0 win over Canada in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday (June 20). Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scored the goals after the break.
What's next for Lionel Messi's Argentina?
Lionel Messi's Argentina continue their quest for back-to-back Copa America titles when they take on 2015-16 champions Chile next in a blockbuster showdown on Tuesday (June 25) at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
It's pertinent to note that Chile beat La Albiceleste in both those finals on penalties. Since the 2016 defeat, though, Lionel Scaloni's men are unbeaten in six games - winning three - against their South American neighbours.
Their last meeting - in January 2022 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers - saw Messi and Co. win 2-1, with Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez scoring the two Argentine goals, while Ben Bereton Diaz scored Chile's lone strike.
The reigning Copa champions take on Peru in their final group game on Saturday (June 29) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.