"Happy to have achieved everything in my career" - Lionel Messi says Ballon d'Or is no longer a priority after iconic 8th triumph

Lionel Messi admitted that winning the Ballon d'Or was no longer a priority after winning everything in world football. He was happy to collect the award a record eighth time and was pleased with the way his career turned out.

Speaking to L'Equipe, Messi stated that he was never chasing Ballons d'Or in his career. He also hinted that the FIFA World Cup was probably his ultimate aim. He said:

"Winning another Ballon d'Or was never a priority for me, especially now that I have won everything there is to win in my career. I am happy to have achieved everything in my career, and to be the player with 8 Ballon d'Ors."

Lionel Messi beat Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the award this year. His performances at the FIFA World Cup helped him win the award over the Manchester City star, who won the Gerd Muller award on Monday, October 30.

Lionel Messi admits FIFA World Cup is more important than Ballon d'Or

It was not the first time Lionel Messi admitted that the Ballon d'Or was not his priority, but the FIFA World Cup. Speaking at a press conference after joining Inter Miami, the Argentine revealed that he always thinking about getting the World Cup trophy back to his country and said:

"I think I have said it many times during my career: the Ballon d'Or is a very important award because of what it means. For its recognition, it is one of the nicest awards in the world at an individual level. But I never gave importance to individual awards. The most important thing was the collective awards. I was lucky enough to win everything in my career, and the World Cup was what I was missing. That's why now, after Qatar, I'm thinking much less about that award."

He added:

"Now I'm enjoying my moment. I'm not thinking about the Ballon d'Or. If it comes, fine; and if not, I am satisfied that I have achieved my objectives and…. now I have others with this club. We came here for this, to help the club win titles and on a personal level I'm also thinking about that."

Lionel Messi finished just one goal behind Kylian Mbappe at the FIFA World Cup and also collected the Golden Ball at the tournament in Qatar. He also played a key role in PSG winning the Ligue 1 last season.