More than 5,000 schoolchildren sing 'Happy Birthday' to Messi in his home city

More than 5,000 schoolchildren sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Lionel Messi in his native city as he celebrated on a private island with his wife and friends including former Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez.

Youngsters from a youth orchestra in the Argentinian city of Rosario led the way with the stunning birthday tribute at the iconic National Flag Memorial near the shore of the Parana River.

The breathtaking accolade was televised on local TV, forming part of a new chapter of a programme called Mundo Leo which is dedicated to the soccer star.

Former Liverpool winger Maxi Rodriguez was among those who appeared on screen to wish Messi a happy 35th birthday before the children made their voices heard with their emotion-charged display.

The Paris Saint-Germain star turned 35 on Friday, in Sa Ferradura just off the north coast of Ibiza and celebrated with friends including Suarez and former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas and their partners.

Messi, wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three children Thiago, nine, Mateo, six, and Ciro, four, have been staying in a six-bed £250,000-a-week mansion on the island with Fabregas and wife Daniella Semaan.

Around the same time as the ‘Happy Birthday’ tribute in Rosario for the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner, the PSG star was enjoying evening drinks with his footballer friends and their partners.

His family trip to Ibiza came a fortnight after he holidayed at his mansion near his native city after international duty including a Wembley Stadium showdown between Euro 2020 winners Italy and Copa America 2021 champions Argentina which the South Americans won 3-0.

Messi’s Mediterranean holiday is expected to be his last before he returns to Paris to prepare for the coming season, which will be interrupted by the Qatar World Cup where he will be striving to win the elusive medal missing from his trophy cabinet.