He said on Monday that he wasn’t thinking about his long-term prospects because he wanted to enjoy winning his eighth Ballon d’Or.
Messi, 36, took over the award from Karim Benzema because of how well he played last season and how he led Argentina to victory at the World Cup in Qatar.
Messi told AFP and other news outlets after receiving his award at a ceremony in Paris, “The last one I won was also because of what we did with the Argentine national team in the Copa America (in 2021). But this one is much more special because it comes after we won the World Cup.”
“That is the trophy everyone wants to win the most, and it was a dream come true for me, my teammates and my country.”
It was the highlight of his amazing career when he led Argentina to victory in Qatar. It also helped him beat Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to win the Ballon d’Or.
Haaland came in second, Mbappe came in third, and Kevin De Bruyne came in fourth.
After Argentina beat France on penalties in the World Cup final in Doha, Messi was named the event’s best player. He scored seven goals in the tournament.
Even though Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009, his last season at Paris Saint-Germain wasn’t great either. He left to play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
Some people thought he might try for another Ballon d’Or, maybe after the next World Cup in 2026, when he will be 39 years old.
“I’m not thinking about much farther ahead.” “Right now I’m just enjoying each day,” he said.
“We have a Copa America coming up in the United States, where I am now, in which we are the holders, so I am looking forward to coming into that in good shape and then just see how I am getting on from there.”
Messi said when he got back to Paris that his two years at PSG had not gone the way he had hoped when he signed there from Barcelona in 2021.
“Things didn’t turn out as I hoped but I enjoyed the city a lot, and my kids liked it a lot and found it hard to leave,” he shared.
“This city is beautiful, and I feel lucky to have lived here.” Things didn’t go as planned with football, but I’d rather remember all the good things.