When Lionel Messi left Barcelona for Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, the world was stunned. While the reasons for his departure were extraordinary, the prospect of seeing Messi play for a team other than Barcelona was an incredible one for soccer fans.
Messi recently gave his first full-length interview with France Football as a PSG player. There he spoke about an array of topics, including who he thinks are the favorites to win the Ballon D’or and why he feels he won’t win the trophy this year.
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Soccer Football – Champions League – Group A – Paris St Germain v Manchester City – Parc des Princes, Paris, France – September 28, 2021 Paris St Germain’s Idrissa Gueye celebrates scoring their first goal with Lionel Messi and Nuno Mendes REUTERS/Benoit Tessier TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
PSG star Lionel Messi believes he is not “the favorite” for Ballon D’or this year
The 6-time Ballon D’or winner straight up revealed to France Football that he hates calling himself the favorite to win before the results. “I don’t think I’m the favorite and I’ve never liked talking about it until the result is in,” Messi said.
Despite that, Messi did admit that he’d had an incredible summer and he would not mind another win. “It would be great to win another one, it’s already amazing to be the only player to have won six. A seventh would be incredible. This past summer I won a trophy that was missing in the Copa América and that was the pinnacle for me. If I go on to win another Ballon d’Or, I’ll be very happy and very grateful, but I’m not thinking about it.”
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Soccer Football – World Cup – South American Qualifiers – Argentina v Bolivia – El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina – September 9, 2021 Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, and teammates celebrate winning Copa America with the trophy after the match Pool via REUTERS/Natacha Pisarenko
Lionel Messi snubs Jorginho and CR7 for Benzema as Ballon D’or favorite
As the talk progressed, the former Barcelona captain was quipped about whom he will vote for the Ballon d’Or. While he named the usual suspects like Robert Lewandowski, Neymar and Mbappe, the PSG talisman surprisingly snubbed Jorginho and Cristiano Ronaldo. He instead picked Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema over them.
“In my team, there are at least two players for whom I’ll vote in Kylian and Ney. Then Lewandowski, who has had a great year. But there’s also Benzema. We know that trophies are important now. The Champions League, the European Championship, and the Copa América always weigh heavily in the vote.”
What do you think about Messi’s picks? Who do you think will the Ballon D’or this year? Let us know!
Also Read: “Much More Physical Than La Liga” – Lionel Messi Opens Up on His Struggles at PSG
