‘Looking forward to Copa America now’: Lionel Messi

Inter Miami’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi (left) holds his 8th Ballon d’Or award while FC Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati proudly displays her reward in Paris on Monday. Pic/AFP

Lionel Messi won the eighth Ballon d'Or of his remarkable career at a glittering ceremony in Paris on Monday, while Spain's World Cup-winning star Aitana Bonmati took the women's prize.

For Messi, the trophy rewards, above all else, his inspirational performances at last year's World Cup in Qatar, when he dragged Argentina to victory, scoring seven goals and being named the tournament's best player.

Messi said on Monday he was not thinking about his long-term future as he sought to enjoy winning the eighth Ballon d'Or of his storied career. Messi, 36, succeeded Karim Benzema as winner of the prize, awarded on the back of his performances last season, when he inspired Argentina to glory at the World Cup in Qatar.

‘This one is more special'

"The last one I won was also thanks to what we achieved 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," Messi told various media including AFP after collecting his award at a ceremony in Paris. "That is the trophy everyone wants to win the most, and it was a dream come true for me, my teammates and my country."

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He played down suggestions he could come back for another Ballon d'Or, possibly after the next World Cup in 2026, when he will be 39. "I am not thinking about the long-term future. I am just enjoying the day to day at the moment," 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."

He dragged Argentina to a victory in Qatar that crowned his remarkable career and allowed him to see off stiff competition for the Ballon d'Or from Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in particular. Haaland came second in the final voting, with Mbappe third and Kevin De Bruyne in fourth place. Former Barcelona superstar Messi scored seven times at the World Cup and was named the tournament's best player after Argentina beat France on penalties in the final in Doha.

Yet Messi, who won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009, also had an underwhelming final season at Paris Saint-Germain, before leaving to play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. Messi admitted on his return to the French capital that his two-year stint at PSG had not turned out the way he imagined upon signing from Barcelona in 2021.

Unique year for Bonmati

Meanwhile, Bonmati told various media after collecting her award: "It is difficult to improve on this. It has honestly been a unique year. If anyone had said to me when I was little that I would play at the Camp Nou, win a World Cup, two Champions Leagues, a Ballon d'Or, a UEFA prize, extraordinary things have happened for me lately."

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