Having finished his first season in Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) football club, Lionel Messi is currently training with the Argentine national team to prepare for the coming 2022 Finalissima against Italy. In an interview with Argentine pay television sports channel TyC Sports, he said Karim Benzema of Real Madrid will win the Ballon d'Or Award this year.

"I think Benzema deserves Ballon d'Or, there are no doubts," Messi said. "It's clear he had special year and won the UEFA Champions League title in the end. He has been playing an integral role to Real since the Round of 16 games. There are no doubts this year."

Real knocked out PSG in the Champions League Round of 16 competition after Benzema scored a hat trick in the second-leg game. After that, the Spanish giants continued to beat Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in the following games before winning their 14th Champions League trophy. Though Real were often at a disadvantage against their opponents, they were always the victorious in the end.

Meaning no disrespect to Real, Messi didn't think they were the best team in the Champions League this season. "But they beat all the other teams," he told TyC Sports. "They are the Champions League winner and they always won it."

The 2021-22 season in PSG wasn't successful as Messi's previous time in Barcelona. His individual performance dropped. Neither did the team go far in the Champions League. "I knew this year would be different and I prepared myself for what's coming," he said. PSG were booed by home fans after the Champions League elimination. Messi said though he had never gone through that in Barcelona, he understood the anger of fans.

Messi tested positive for COVID-19 in January. Though he has recovered, he recalled it "hit him very hard." "I suffered sequelae in the lungs," he told TyC Sports. "I couldn't train. I came back I was even unable to run for about one and a half months because my lungs were affected."

Messi said he tried to go back to training earlier than he should have but it made things worse. "When I was halfway in my recovery, Real Madrid beat us in the Champions League," he said.

The cross-continental game against Italy in 2022 Finalissima will happen at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday. Messi, who led Argentina to win the Copa America championship in 2021, wants to add the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions to his honor list.

"We want to win it for personal honor, for the national team and for the people of Argentina," Messi told TyC Sports. "It must be the same for Italy too." He considered the game a good test for Argentina, which will "play every game as if it's the final." "We are a national team that will can fight anyone and will make it difficult for any rival," he said.

The biggest test for both Messi and Argentina is the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year. They are in Group C with Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia. It’s a relatively easy group, but Messi remained very prudent about the team's prospect.

"Experience taught us there are no such things as easy rivals," Messi said. "We celebrated being drawn into Group D at the last World Cup and things grew complicated in the end." He believes the 2022 World Cup will be tough for Argentina and called France a champions candidate.