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Lionel Messi would trade five Ballon d'Or trophies for one World Cup

Barcelona star Lionel Messi admitted he would trade five Ballon d'Or trophies to have just one World Cup for Argentina.

Messi won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing but has not won any silverware with his country since, despite the Albiceleste reaching the final at both the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa America.

#INSERT type:image caption:Lionel Messi said he would trade five Ballon d'Or trophies for one World Cup. END#

"What a tough question," he said during the Ballon d'Or press conference in Zurich. "But the World Cup is the highest thing you can reach as a player. So the World Cup, definitely."

Argentina have two chances for international success this year as they take part in the 2016 Centennial Copa America in the United States in June, following by the Olympic football tournament in Brazil in August.