Topics: Lionel Messi, Barcelona, Argentina, La Liga
Dazzling the crowds for years, the alien from another planet celebrates his birthday on Wednesday. Here we take a look at some of his greatest moments, and what the future holds for the Argentine.

Cristiano Ronaldo may have a galaxy named after him, but Messi is the alien from another planet.

This is, of course, according to the likes of Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon and Real Madrid rival James Rodriguez, who have joined a long list of world-class talents to publicly admit their admiration for the South American superstar.

This is due to the mesmerizing talent he exhibits everytime he touches the pitch, from the moment the whistle goes off, until the last minutes of the game.

It has been 28 years to the day since Lionel Andres Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina. Nearly three decades later, and the short magician is regarded as one of the best football players to have graced the beautiful game, though many of those might be Barcelona fans.

Wednesday is the Albiceleste ace’s birthday, meaning another year has gone by of La Pulga dazzling the crowds with his flair. He forever inches closer to the age known as every player’s climax, yet shows no sign of slowing down.

La Pulga made his La Liga debut in 16 October, 2004, nearly 11 years ago, and appeared in the Champions League for the very first time two months later in a 2-0 win over Shakhtar. Little did we know he would turn out to be the tournament’s all-time record scorer (tied with Ronaldo), with 77 strikes in the competition's history.

At the mere age of 21, Messi received a Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nod, before sweeping up the earlier award the following year, at 22 years of age. By 25, he had four Ballon d’Or prizes to his name, the most by a single player.

Leo has 412 goals for the Blaugrana, a feat he reached in 480 games, winning 24 titles for the Catalan giants along the way, more than what legends Pele and Maradona had achieved in their club career at this exact same age COMBINED.

He is La Liga and Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer, and has won the treble twice in six years.

One shortcoming of Messi, though, is with his national team. The Argentine is yet to win major silverware for his home country, a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics being the only exception. Having amassed 100 caps for Argentina, La Pulga will hope to end this trophy drought by winning the 2015 Copa America.

Should he lift the continental trophy, the four-time Ballon d’Or winner can return to Camp Nou with assurance over his future. When the Spanish giants signed Neymar, then Luis Suarez, many wondered whether we would be witnessing the period when Messi’s reign would be ushered out in favor of young, fresher blood.

The 28-year-old, however, responded to the critics, and very well he did, reinventing himself, taking up the role of playmaker in the club, whilst still boasting his admirable goalscoring track record.

With this in mind, only one thing can be surely stated: Messi has enjoyed a tremendous career, and despite turning 28, many more wonderful seasons from the Argentine are yet to come.