Barcelona, Jun 24 (IANS): Social media was flooded with birthday wishes as Barcelona forward Lionel Messi turned 33 on Wednesday. The Argentine, who is widely regarded as one of greatest players to have ever played the game, was born on this day in 1987.

In his astonishing career so far, Messi has won numerous team and individual trophies and continues to remain the force behind Barcelona's surge both in domestic and European competitions.

FC Barcelona wished Messi on his birthday by uploading a video of him celebrating his goals and their Twitter post read: "Today we are swapping for 'GOAL OF THE DAY' for an even better video because the best in the world deserves the best celebrations. Happy Birthday Leo #Messi."

Former England great and pundit Gary Linekar wrote on Twitter: "Happy 33rd Birthday to Lionel Messi. He is reaching the twilight of his astonishing career. 722 games and 699 goals for a player that is creative and unselfish for others as he is prolific and deadly in his finishing. We'll miss him when he is gone. Enjoy him while we can."

LaLiga simply shared a photo of Messi with his countless trophies and wrote: "Happy 33rd Birthday Lionel Messi."

Since his debut for Barcelona senior team in 2004, Messi has gone on to win every trophy there is to win at club level. He has won the league title 10 times, six Copa del Rey trophies and four Champions League titles.

He has also won the prestigious Ballon d'Or crown a record six times, one ahead of closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

With Argentina, however, Messi has so far failed to replicate his club performance as he is yet to break his international duck as far as World Cup and Copa America is concerned. He won the gold medal with his national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.