Lionel Messi, sadly, reminded us all that he’s getting older as he celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday.The Barcelona ace has plenty of years remaining at the top. Just look at Cristiano Ronaldo who, at the age of 32, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career.But his 30th birthday serves a reminder that Messi will one day hang up his boots; that there are younger players waiting to replace him at the top.And we should also be grateful of every magical moment Messi has delivered in his career.The Argentinian posted a picture on Instagram of himself with his partner and their son Thiago, writing: “Finishing the birthday 😉😉😉  thanks everyone for your wishes .. 👍👍👍”.Barcelona, of course, made a major deal of Messi’s birthday. Using the hashtag L30MESSI on Twitter, they posted an endless stream of tributes to their star, including footage of Messi as an academy player and a reel of the player’s changing faces throughout the years.

Gary Lineker declared Messi the GOAT

One tweet that caught the eye of Gary Lineker was one in which Barcelona asked their followers to use one emoji to define Messi.

Lineker knew straight away which one he would go for - the one of a goat.

The 🐐 emoji has become the symbol for greatest of all time. So in Lineker’s opinion Messi is the best to ever do it.

No doubt Cristiano Ronaldo fans will be annoyed.

This isn’t the first time Lineker has claimed Messi is the greatest player in football history.

In 2015, he tweeted: “Messi is indisputably the greatest player ever to don a pair of football boots. Don't even attempt to argue the point.”

And in an interview with JOE.co.uk, the Match of the Day host went into more detail about just what makes Messi so good.

“I think it’s just pure talent,” Lineker said. “He seems to always know what to do in any give situation. He gets surrounded and he’ll find a way through or poke a little pass.

“He always seems to know when to do the right thing – when to pass it, the weight of the pass – you can’t teach that.

“Obviously there’s loads of practice in there as well, but…I mean the way he runs with the ball, it never, just never goes beyond half a yard from his foot.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of professional footballers about him and we’re all aghast as to how he can be that skilful. How he can be that good.”

Is Messi the GOAT? Let us know in the comments section below!