The FIFA World Cup 2022 winner Messi wins Laureus Award 2023 an individual award that no other footballer has won before. The Argentine and PSG superstar added two more awards to his massive trophy cabinet by winning the Laureus world sports award for Sportsman of the Year and the World Team of the Year.
This is Messi’s second Laureus Sportsman of the Year trophy as he won his first one in 2020 sharing the prize with Formula One legend Lewis Hamilton. He is the only player from a team sport to win this prestigious individual award. Lionel Messi led Argentina to world cup glory with amazing performances at the age of 35 and won the best player of Tournament prize as well.
A few months back, he also received FIFA The Best Player award for the Player of the Year. Winning the World Cup in Qatar has glorified his legacy even more as he now won every trophy there is to win at the club and international levels.
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Messi Wins Laureus Award 2023
The Laureus Sportsman of the Year 2023 nominees consisted of some serial winners in their particular sport. The 7 times Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi claimed the prize beating 21-time tennis Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, current Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, world record holder in pole vault Mondo Duplantis, basketball player Stephen Curry, and French football international Kylian Mbappe.
The winners of the highly esteemed 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards, the most prestigious awards in the world of sports, were presented in Paris on May 8th. Messi showed up at the awards gala with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo as the Laureus Sportsman of the Year 2023 was presented to him.
Messi was pleased to receive the prestigious recognition for the second time and have his name on the Laureus Award winners list with other greats. In his speech after collecting the trophy, he said: “I was looking at the names of the incredible legends that won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award before me: Schumacher, Woods, Nadal, Federer, Bolt, Hamilton, Djokovic… it really sunk in what unbelievable company I’m in and what a unique honour this is”.
He continued his speech thanking his teammates “It’s an honour, especially since the Laureus World Sports Awards are taking place this year in Paris, the city that welcomed me and my family. I would like to thank all my teammates, not only those of the national team but also those of PSG. I have not accomplished anything alone and I am grateful to be able to share all this with them.”
He also collected the Laureus World Team of the Year 2023 on behalf of the Argentina team that won the World Cup 2023 in Qatar. Talking about the journey of the tournament he said “For us, the World Cup was an unforgettable adventure; I cannot describe what it felt like to return to Argentina and see what our victory had brought to our people. And I’m even happier to see that the team I was part of at the World Cup was also honoured by the Laureus Academy tonight”.
Laureus Awards 2023 All Winners
Claiming the Player of the Year 2023 Laureus Award Messi became the first footballer to win the recognition twice. Gu Ailing, a freeskier from China who won two gold medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, has been awarded the Action Sportsperson of the Year award.
Carlos Alcaraz, the champion of the US Open, has been recognized as the best breakthrough of the year. The women’s individual award was presented to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a Jamaican sprinter who won her fifth world 100m title in Eugene last August.
Christian Eriksen, Denmark and Manchester United midfielder has been awarded the Comeback of the Year for his return to football after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Euro 2020. As we discussed earlier, the Team of the Year was given to the Argentina football national team.
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Conclusion
Messi Wins Laureus Award 2023 captured all the attention in the Laureus Award ceremony last night in Paris. It was a massive achievement for Argentina and PSG star as he is the only team sport player to claim this award twice no other player from a team sport has one it once.