Less than a day after helping Inter Miami tie the LA Galaxy at the last minute, Lionel Messi posted a cute photo of himself and his spouse on social media on her birthday.

On Monday, the 36-year-old Argentinean posted a loving message to his little sweetie on Instagram, wishing her a happy birthday in public. My dearest @antonelarocuzzo,

Along with blowing a cake together, the couple was also seen with their three sons, Thiago, 11, Matteo, 8, and Ciro, 5, posing in front of multicoloured balloons, a cardboard sign that read “Happy Birthday Anto,” and a wall sticker.

 

“Un ano mas viejita,” which translates to “one year older” in English, is what Antonela, now 36, said as a description to her Instagram post including family photos.

Along with wishing Antonela a happy birthday, Victoria Beckham shared a photo of the two of them from what appears to be a girls’ lunch on Instagram.

On Monday, Lionel Messi sent his wife a Pocahontas sign, balloons, and flowers for her birthday.

Together with her 36-year-old husband and her three boys, Thiago, Matteo, and Ciro, Antonela rejoiced.

With a goal in the 92nd minute on Sunday, Messi helped Inter Miami escape their first loss of the new MLS season as the Herons defeated the Galaxy 1-1 in Los Angeles.

After a series of give-and-go passes with Jordi Alba, with whom he had previously played for nine seasons at Barcelona, he slid forward and chipped a shot into the roof of the net above Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy.

The goal thrilled the boisterous crowd at Miami’s first away game of the season, who were supporting both teams. There were 27,642 spectators, a record for a Galaxy regular-season game at their suburban stadium, many of whom were sporting Messi shirts.

After the game, Kim Kardashian received backlash from fans on social media for sending her son, Saint West, to walk out with Messi rather than a “less fortunate kid.”

After bringing together Messi and Luis Suarez with other former Barcelona players Sergio Busquets and Alba, Inter Miami is a strong betting favourite to win the Major League Soccer this season. However, Messi’s teammates are well aware that it will not be simple.

Last Wednesday, Miami defeated the rebuilt Galaxy at home to win the season opener. However, four days later, in Messi’s debut against the team that used to employ Inter co-owner David Beckham, the Galaxy routinely outperformed Miami.

Also on Monday, Victoria Beckham took the time to wish Antonela a happy birthday on Instagram.

Messi leaving with Saint West, Kim Kardashian’s son, before to Sunday’s tie between Inter Miami and the LA Galaxy

Outside the stadium of his former team, the Galaxy, is home to a statue honouring Beckham, who helped spark the expansion of Major League Soccer in 2007. He is also largely responsible for Inter’s rise to the position that the Galaxy held for a long time, during which time players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, and Steven Gerrard worked towards the end of their careers.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber was thrilled with the build-up to Sunday’s game.

Before the game, Garber met with Beckham and Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz. “It sort of represents everything we wanted this sport to be, and have worked so hard for so many years,” explained Anschutz. “Everyone is putting in a lot of effort to maintain this momentum.” This strikes me as being largely about where we were in 2007 and where we are now.

Messi and company will next play an away in-state match on Saturday against rival Orlando City.