Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or would be the first of its kind

The case for Messi

"After winning the World Cup, which is what I was missing, now I’m really not thinking about the (Ballon d’or.) … If I win it, great. If not, it’s fine."

Lionel Messi

Messi must be considered the frontrunner for an eighth Ballon d'Or; besides leading Argentina to the World Cup, the only major trophy to have eluded him, he also tallied 42 total goals and 26 assists across all competitions. He was the World Cup's Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner, as the best player and top scorer of the tournament, and he helped PSG win yet another Ligue 1 title and the Trophee des Champions.

At his first Inter Miami press conference, Messi was asked about winning an eight Ballon d'Or.

“I’ve said this many times in my career: even though it’s a prestigious award, one of the top individual awards, I never gave it much quote-unquote importance,” he said. “The most important thing for me has always been team awards.

“I was lucky to have accomplished everything in my career. After winning the World Cup, which is what I was missing, now I’m really not thinking about the (Ballon d’or.) … If I win it, great. If not, it’s fine. Now I have new objectives with this club. That’s why we came here. To help the club win titles, and personally for me, to continue to win trophies.”