"It was the culmination of everything in my career" - Lionel Messi recalls what he felt after Gonzalo Montiel's World Cup-winning penalty

Lionel Messi recalled how he felt after Gonzalo Montiel's penalty secured World Cup glory for Argentina back in December.

The Argentine established himself as one of the greatest players to ever grace the sport with his exceptional club record at Barcelona. The only doubt anyone had over the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was his lack of success at the international level.

The Barcelona legend had gone 17 years without winning silverware for Argentina. He lost four finals in a row, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup in a 1-0 heartbreaking loss against Germany.

The Argentine ace was able to silence some doubters by securing the 2021 Copa America. He then won his second senior international trophy the following year by winning the 2022 Finalissima.

The only trophy that eluded Lionel Messi was the World Cup. Time wasn't on his side and the 2022 FIFA World Cup would have been his final opportunity to complete his trophy cabinet.

Argentina were able to make a run to the finals for the second time in the past decade where they faced off against an in-form France. Kylian Mbappe and Co. were looking to retain the World Cup following their 2018 victory.

The game ended up going to penalties with the scores tied at 3-3. Argentina were able to win the shootout 4-2, scoring all their spot-kicks.

Messi spoke to Laureus, revealing how it felt once Montiel scored the winning penalty (via Albiceleste Talk):

“The truth is that it's very difficult to explain what I felt at that moment. It was the culmination of everything in my career. Getting hold of the only trophy that I was missing.”

The full clip can be viewed below:

Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball for the second time in his career after scoring seven goals at the World Cup.

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Lionel Messi reveals he doesn't care about winning 2023 Ballon d'Or due to 2022 FIFA World Cup win

Lionel Messi is in contention to win his eighth Ballon d'Or this year and is likely to battle it out with Manchester City star Erling Haaland for the coveted prize.

The Argentine had another exceptional campaign for club and country. He won the Golden Ball and the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the international level. Messi also scored 21 goals and provided 20 assists in 41 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), helping the French outfit win the Ligue 1 title.

When asked about winning the Ballon d'Or award, he said (via Albiceleste Talk):

"Does Ballon d’Or matter to me? No, at this stage in my life, it is 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 to me. The most important prize at the moment is the World Cup. This is the greatest prize for me."

Messi has won the most Ballon d'Ors in football history with seven. Cristiano Ronaldo is second on this list with five Ballon d'Ors to his name.