Lionel Messi has won so many individual awards across his blistering career, that he has now begun to give them away. The Argentine is arguably considered as the greatest player of all time, after he himself earned that degree by winning the only trophy that was missing from his cabinet; the FIFA World Cup. Messi thrived in Qatar last year, steering his nation to a third World Cup, and his first.
While the Lionel Messi’s accomplishments speak for themselves, yet there is only so much one can say about his skills without veering into hyperbole. The 35-year-old won 10 La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey trophies, and four Champions Leagues during his 17-year stay at Barcelona. Now at Paris Saint-Germain, he appears poised to win Ligue 1 for the second time in a row.
Lionel Messi gave away his La Liga 20/21 player of the year award to Paredes
Lionel Messi broke his international trophy curse after he assisted Argentina in ending a trophy drought by leading them to Copa America triumph in 2021 and the World Cup in the following year. The PSG playmaker scored a stunning 7 goals and assisted 3 to help his nation to the ultimate glory. As a result, he also took home the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament.
While he has won a heap of trophies with club and country, Lionel Messi’s individual award haul is just as incredible. The Barca al-time topscorer has garnered a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, three FIFA The Best awards, three European Player of the Year awards, six European Golden Shoes, and 15 Argentine Footballer of the Year honours.
And if Messi were to win the Ballon d’Or this year, he might struggle to find a place for his eighth trophy since he already has so many awards. Perhaps for this reason, PSG’s Leandro Paredes was the recipient of one of Messi’s awards.
Paredes has stated that the World Cup winning captain gave him his La Liga Best Player award for 2020–21. The PSG midfielder, who is currently out on loan to Italian giants Juventus recently gave journalists a tour of his Turin house. Showing them the award Messi gave to him, Paredes said, “He [Messi] arrived in Paris, I asked him if he would give it to me and he gave it to me.”
Paredes has Messi’s La Liga 2020/21 Best Player award, he says: "He arrived in Paris, I asked him if he would give it to me and he gave it to me.” ?️?? @SofiMMartinez
— All About Argentina ??? (@AlbicelesteTalk) April 15, 2023
The irony with the award that Lionel Messi gave away to his club and country teammate is that he won it in what turned out to be his last season in the La Liga. Messi left Barcelona in the summer of 2021 as a free agent and joined PSG on a two-year deal after the Catalans were unable to register him under La Liga’s new salary cap rules.
Nonetheless, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner took the La Liga player of the year award as a parting gift with a whopping 30 goals and 11 assists in just 35 league games. While Messi signed a two-year contract with PSG, with an option for an additional year if both parties agreed, it, however, appears that negotiations have fallen down over an extension, making the World Cup winner’s departure this summer all but certain.
In 69 games for the French club, Lionel Messi has scored 31 goals and contributed 33 assists. In his debut season, he won the Ligue 1 title, and the Parisian club appears to be on track to repeat the feat for a second time in a row. However, failure in the Champions League has frustrated the PSG Ultras, who have frequently booed Messi this year. This has left him unimpressed and a return to Barcelona is touted in the summer for the playmaker.