“It’s a very special moment for me to be back here on this stage winning again, after being there in the audience watching as Cristiano Ronaldowon for two years“, Messi said after picking up the award.
The striker went on to say of winning the trophy five times: “It’s incredible that it’s my fifth. Much more than anything I would have dreamed of as a kid”.
“I want to thank everyone who voted and my teammates, for without them none of this would ever have been possible. I also want to thank football for everything it has brought me, both bad and good. It has made me grow and learn, always”, he concluded.
The Argentine spoke to the media after picking up his award. Messi thinks that the enormity of his achievement has not yet sunk in.
“It’s the same as what we’re achieving at club level. You don’t stop to think about what’s going on and it only really sinks in when you hang up your boots and have been away from the game for a while”, said the 28-year-old Argentine.
Messi insisted that he wants to remain faithful to Barcelona, the club he joined as a boy, until the end of his playing days. “I always said as much: my plan is to end my career at home. I grew up at Barcelona and that’s my home. Hopefully, that’s what happens“, he said.
“That said, football takes lots of twists and turns. They wanted to kill us all just a year ago and we went on to win almost everything”, he recalled. My plan is to finish where I started”, he concluded.
Bron: Marca
