39 and counting: Messi is still making history as he celebrates birthday

DUBAI: Instagram did not exist. Lionel Scaloni was still pulling on the Argentina shirt rather than coaching from the touchline. And Lionel Messi was a teenager scoring his first FIFA World Cup goal.

Twenty years since his World Cup debut at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Messi is still making history.

As Adidas celebrated the Argentine becoming the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer with a new campaign retracing his journey across football’s biggest stage, the 38-year-old once again showed that his appetite for records remains as strong as ever.

Messi moved clear atop the World Cup scoring charts this week after netting his 17th and 18th tournament goals in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria, surpassing Germany’s Miroslav Klose and adding another milestone to a career that has spanned six World Cups.

The achievement is the focus of Adidas’ latest campaign, which revisits Messi’s World Cup story from Germany 2006 through to the US, Canada and Mexico in 2026. The film looks back at the goals, celebrations and defining moments that have shaped his international career.

One of the campaign’s most striking visuals features Messi standing beneath a suspended Adidas F50 El Ultimo Tango boot, surrounded by the official Adidas match balls associated with his World Cup goals. From the Teamgeist used for his first World Cup goal in Germany in 2006 to the Trionda being used at the 2026 tournament, the collection visually traces the journey behind his record-breaking 18-goal tally.

The campaign also highlights the extraordinary timespan behind the record.

When Messi scored against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, he was an emerging talent making his mark on football’s biggest stage. Two decades later, he is still