Messi: 'My greatest reward is winning Copa America'

Lionel Messi is widely considered the favorite candidate to win the Ballon d'Or award this year following his incredible exploits for club and country.

However, it doesn't look like the Argentine is thinking too much about it despite closing in on winning the accolade for the seventh time in his career.

The playmaker reached a historic breakthrough in the summer as he finally overcame his struggles on the international stage by leading Argentina to claim the Copa America.

That, according to Lionel Messi, is a bigger achievement than winning a seventh Ballon d'Or.

"To be honest, I don't think about it [winning the Ballon d'Or 2021]," the Paris Saint-Germain forward was quoted as saying.

"My greatest reward is to have won the Copa America with Argentina," he added.

Lionel Messi was the star of the summer as he had a tournament that will be remembered for decades in the 2021 Copa America.

The 34-year-old managed to inspire La Albiceleste to success in the competition after several close misses. And most importantly, he did it in style.

Messi finished as the top scorer in the competition with four goals to his name. He also had the highest number of assists (5) and was named the best player of the tournament to honor his impressive efforts.

Following that success, the attacker became the favorite to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. With the winner set to be announced in just a few hours, everyone is keeping their fingers crossed as they await the announcement.

Lionel Messi closing in on seventh Ballon d'Or triumph

If reports are to be believed, it is highly likely that Lionel Messi will be announced the winner of the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. Should that be the case, it would be the seventh time the Argentine will claim the coveted prize in his career.

Messi won the prize for the first time in 2009 and made it a run of four successive triumphs down to 2012. He claimed it again in 2015 before recording his most recent triumph in 2019.

It remains to be seen if he'll become the first player in history to win the award seven times tomorrow.