Barcelona captain Lionel Messi was presented with the Pichichi trophy for a record seventh time on Monday, but the star striker has said that he would rather win the La Liga again than be the top-scorer in the league.
The Pichchi trophy is given each season to the player who scores the most number of goals in the La Liga. Messi has now won the award more than any other player in the league. He scored 33 goals in the 2019-20 season.
Previously, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi had competed for the trophy on a regular cycle when the former was with Real Madrid. Since Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, Messi has won the award since 2018.
“An eighth Pichichi? I don’t know, nor am I thinking about it, it is not something I am worried or obsessed about,” Spanish newspaper Marca which awards the Pichchi trophy, quoted the Argentine as saying.
“I would prefer to win La Liga before getting the Pichichi, we are fighting towards that,” Messi said.
Real Madrid won the La Liga title for a record 34th time in the 2019-20 season, which also marked Barcelona’s first season without a title since 2007-08.
“We are slowly growing. We struggled to get going in the league, nor did we deserve to drop all those points, we could have won several of those games, like at Alaves, Getafe, Real Madrid...
“We created a lot of chances, that would have changed the situation, but we have to put together a run of good games to get ourselves back at the top,” the six-time Ballon d’Or winner said.
Barca are currently trailing La Liga toppers Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid by eight points.
