Lionel Messi Scores Hat-Trick on 36th Birthday Against Hometown Team Newell's Old Boys

(Photo : STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images) Argentine football player Lionel Messi controls the ball during Maximiliano Rodriguez's farewell match at the Marcelo Bielsa stadium in Rosario, Argentina on January 24, 2023.

Lionel Messi spent his 36th birthday playing in compatriot Maxi Rordiguez's farewell game against his local boyhood club Newell's Old Boys, in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina.

Wearing the iconic Argentina shirt, the newly-36-year-old forward scored a first-half hat-trick. He nailed a free-kick from outside the box for his first goal, chipped over the goalkeeper for his second, and struck with his left foot for his third.

Messi's Argentina side lost to Newell's Old Boys, 7-5, but being an unofficial friendly, it does not count in the World Cup winner's career and team stats.

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Lionel Messi Received Warm Welcome From Boyhood Club

Messi joined Newell's Old Boys when he was six years old, and he scored over 500 goals for their youth side. He regularly entertained crowds by performing tricks with the ball during half-time of their first team's matches.

After being diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 10, Newell's promised to contribute to Messi's treatment, which cost $1000 a month.

However, the Argentine club did not deliver on their promise, and Messi's family sought an agreement with Spanish side FC Barcelona for the 10-year-old Leo to join their youth academy in exchange for paying for the costly growth hormone therapy. The rest, as they say, is history.

On his 36th birthday, the icon returned to Newell's Old Boys' stadium for the first time in years, and 42,000 fans cheered him on as he was introduced.

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