Lionel Messi said, “The Ballon d’Or is no longer important to me; individual accolades are not what matter”

Once he wins the FIFA World Cup in 2022, according to Lionel Messi, the Ballon d’Or will not matter to him. Messi, who has a record seven Ballon d’Or victories, is once again one of the top favorites to take home the trophy this year, but the Argentinean isn’t particularly focused on the individual honor.

After spending two years in Paris Saint-Germain, Messi just departed the French city. The Argentine has already declared that he would join with Inter Miami.

Messi, who is widely regarded as the best player to ever play the game, dominated European football for nearly 15 years before making history with his transfer to Miami. The 35-year-old reportedly rejected a bid worth more than $1 billion from the Saudi club Al Hilal. He was also on the verge of returning to his old team Barcelona, but that didn’t happen since the team took too long to extend Messi a formal contract. Although the Argentine himself wanted to return to Barcelona, he didn’t want to put himself in the same position as a few years ago, when the club declined to extend his contract despite the informal agreement because of FFP regulations.

As part of the Argentina team’s preparation for their match against Australia, Messi is now in China. He was questioned about if the coveted golden ball, which is awarded to the greatest player of the year, still meant to him.

Do I care about the Ballon d’Or? No, I’m no longer concerned about it. I’ve always maintained that the collective awards are more significant to me than the individual ones. The World Cup is the biggest reward for me right now, according to Messi, who spoke to Titan Sports in China.

The friendly match between Argentina and Australia will take place on Thursday at Beijing’s 68,000-seat Workers’ Stadium.

The game is a rematch of their World Cup last-16 encounter in Doha, which Argentina won 2-1.