Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi said he's felt "peace of mind" since leading the Argentina national team to the 2021 Copa America championship in July.

Messi, who tied for the tournament lead with four goals and won the Best Player Award, told ESPN's Adriana Garcia on Wednesday he was on cloud nine after the triumph.

"I have peace of mind of having achieved the dream that has been denied to me so many times," he said. "It was like a dream, a spectacular moment. I couldn't believe it had happened. I enjoy watching the images now more than at the time as I was in a daze. I didn't quite understand what was happening."

The Argentine squad had come close at major events on several occasions since Messi made his senior team debut in 2005. It finished as the runner-up in Copa America three times (2007, 2015 and 2016) and also reached the final in the 2014 World Cup.

While Argentina did win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008, those events are contested differently with mostly U23 players, so Messi and Co. still felt the pressure to win a trophy on one of the sport's biggest stages.

The 34-year-old told ESPN coming up short in previous finals led the external pressure to build:

"A part of the media treated us as failures, saying that we didn't feel the [responsibility] of wearing the jersey, that we shouldn't be in the national team.

"We tried to be champions before, we were the first ones to want to. It's very difficult to win a World Cup or a Copa America. At the time they didn't value what we did, they only put emphasis on the fact that we didn't achieve the aim. The important thing is to feel satisfied that you have given your all...luckily, the last time [final] was different."

Messi often came under fire for the national team's lack of success, in large part because his scoring rate couldn't match that of what he produced at the club level during a decorated career with Barcelona.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner scored 672 goals in 778 appearances (0.86 goals per game) for Barca. He's tallied 76 goals in 152 matches (0.5 GPG) for La Albiceleste.

Finally capturing a major title helped alleviate some of that pressure from his shoulders, and he credited Argentine manager Lionel Scaloni for guiding the side to the long-awaited trophy.

"Scaloni is one of us, he has great merit," Messi told ESPN. "It was he who selected the national team, the one who believed, the one who took charge at a difficult moment. He gave us confidence, he was bringing in new people, he always knew what he wanted and we grew. From the Copa América 2019 we took a leap."

A month after Copa America, Messi completed a shocking move from Barcelona to PSG to start a new chapter of his club career. He made one appearance for Les Parisiens as a substitute before returning to international duty with Argentina.

La Albiceleste scored a 3-1 win over Venezuela in World Cup qualifying last Thursday before Sunday's marquee clash with rival Brazil was suspended because of a COVID-19 protocol controversy.

The match was abandoned minutes into it after Brazilian health officials accused four Argentine players of breaking quarantine rules when entering the country.

Messi and Co. finish the international window Thursday night when they host Bolivia.