Argentine football icon, Lionel Messi, who is expected to win his record 8th Ballon d’Or this year after a successful 2022-2023 football season, has talked down on the award while saying he is not too concerned about individual awards.
Lionel Messi and his former teammate at FC Barcelona, Dani Alves who is now in prison, are the most decorated footballers in the world in terms of team trophies. They have both won 43 trophies each for both club and country in their illustrious football careers.
But when it comes to individual awards, no footballer in the world is as decorated as the 35-year-old Argentina international.
So far in his football career, Messi has won seven Ballon d’Or, two FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, two Best Player of the Tournament, 14 Argentina Player of the Year, 6 La Liga Player of the Year, 8 La Liga top scorer (Pichichi trophy), 6 European Golden Boot, one FIFA World Player of the Year, two FIFA The Best Award, and two FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball.
Messi is seen as a very strong contender for the 2023 Ballon d’Or which is regarded as the biggest individual award in football. In the year under review – July 2022 to July 2023, Messi has been so successful.
During that period, Lionel Messi helped Argentina to win the prestigious FIFA World Cup and also helped his former club, Paris Saint Germain to win the French Ligue 1.
Even though the 35-year-old international who is expected to play for Inter Miami in the coming weeks is seen as the major contender for the award, he is not too bothered about the award. He categorically said the Ballon d’Or doesn’t matter to him.
In a recent interview, Titan Sports quoted Messi as saying: “Does the Ballon d’Or matter to me? No, it’s no longer important to me.”
“I’ve always said, the individual prizes are not what matters to me, but the collective ones are the most important. The most important prize at the moment is the World Cup, the greatest prize for me.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or is scheduled to take place in Paris in October.