Lionel Messi makes clear choice when asked if he wants to win another Ballon d'Or or FIFA World Cup again

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has said that he would pick another FIFA World Cup win over a ninth Ballon d'Or award. The 38-year-old believes team glory is better than individual awards.

Speaking to 433 in a quickfire round, Messi was asked to pick between a host of topics. He was asked to choose between winning another World Cup and another Ballon d'Or, and the Argentine was quick with his response.

The Argentina captain swiftly went with another FIFA World Cup glory over the France Football award. He has always said that the 2022 World Cup win was the best moment in his career, including earlier this month at the America Business Forum in Florida, United States.

The Barcelona legend hailed it as the ultimate achievement in his career and said (via GOAL):

"The truth is that explaining the feelings of that moment is difficult. It's hard to put into words what that title meant, on a personal level, on a family level, for my team-mates, and for the country. It was clear how the country celebrated, the need and the desire we had for it to happen again after so much time had passed." "For me it was special. First, because for a player, winning the World Cup is the ultimate achievement. It's like anyone in their job, any professional reaching the top. There's nothing more after the World Cup. You can't ask for anything more. And on top of that, I had been lucky enough to have achieved everything before. At the club level, at the individual level. We had also won the Copa América with the national team. That was the missing piece. It was like closing out my entire career with that trophy."

Lionel Messi's Argentina have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Lionel Messi said Cristiano Ronaldo's 5th Ballon d'Or hurt him

Lionel Messi spoke to France Football in 2019, admitting that Cristiano Ronaldo's 5th Ballon d'Or, which saw him pull level with the Argentine, hurt him. He wanted to be the footballer with the most Ballon d'Or wins and said (via Bleacher Report):

"When Cristiano Ronaldo pulled level with me, I'll admit that it hurt a little as I was no longer alone at the top. But, at that moment he deserved the Ballon d'Or and I couldn't do much more about it. I understand why I didn't win, as we hadn't won the UEFA Champions League and winning that competition gives you a better chance of winning the Ballon d'Or. When Cristiano Ronaldo was winning all the [individual] trophies it was because he'd had really good seasons and had been winning the Champions League, being decisive as his team did so."

Lionel Messi has pulled clear since, winning three Ballon d'Ors and moving to eight, three more than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Edited by Sripad