Lionel Messi managed to edge out the likes of Max Verstappen and Kylian Mbappe to win this year’s Laureus Sportsman of the Year award at a glitzy ceremony in Paris on Monday evening. The Argentine forward, who is reportedly set to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, recently added the World Cup to his incredible list of honours by leading his country to the biggest prize in world football in Qatar at the end of last year.
Messi was recognised for his latest and greatest achievement as he scooped the prestigious award for the second time after sharing the prize with Lewis Hamilton back in 2020. The 35-year-old managed to pip a number of other elite athletes including the likes of Verstappen, who won last year’s award after storming to his maiden Drivers’ Championship title in Formula One, while Mbappe was also overlooked despite scoring a historic hat-trick in last year’s World Cup final.
The stage in Paris was graced by Messi on two occasions, with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner also collecting the Laureus World Team of the Year Award on behalf of the Argentina men’s national side. He went on to revel in his pride at becoming the first athlete to win both prizes at the same time in his acceptance speech, saying: “This is a special honour, particularly as the Laureus World Sports Awards are in Paris this year, the city that has welcomed my family since we came here in 2021.
“I want to thank all my teammates, not only from the national team but also at PSG. I have achieved none of this alone and I am grateful to be able to share everything with them. I want to thank the Laureus Academy. What makes these Awards so special to us as athletes is the fact that they are voted for by these incredible champions, my heroes, and this puts my sporting achievements in true context.
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“This is the first time I have been the sole winner of the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award and after a year when we finally won another prize we had been chasing for a long time, at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, it’s an honour to be able to hold this Laureus Statuette.
“I was looking at the names of the incredible legends that won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award before me: [Michael] Schumacher, [Tiger] Woods, [Rafael] Nadal, [Roger] Federer, [Usain] Bolt, Hamilton, [Novak] Djokovic… it really sunk in what unbelievable company I’m in and what a unique honour this is.”
Tennis star Carlos Alcaraz was also recognised for his incredible rise to prominence at Monday’s event, with the teenage Spaniard picking up the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award after winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open last September and reaching top spot in the ATP world rankings for the very first time.
Meanwhile, there were emotional scenes when Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen accepted the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award in front of his wife, with the Dane having successfully returned to the highest levels of the game after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for his country at Euro 2020. Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also picked up the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award following her impressive 100m triumph at the World Athletics Championships in July of last year.
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