Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward, Lionel Messi, has been named the Sportsman of the Year at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards, an annual award established in 1999 that honours the achievements of individuals from the world of sports.
Messi, who played a huge role in Argentina’s triumph at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring seven goals and winning the Golden Ball to help the South American nation clinch the world title, pipped his club’s teammate, Kylian Mbappe, to the honour.
Formula One driver Max Verstappen and Tennis legend Rafael Nadal were also nominated in the Sportsman of the Year category as the Argentine has now become the only footballer to be awarded the Laureus Award twice – he first won it in 2020.
Speaking after receiving the award at the ceremony, the veteran footballer said: “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 team-mates, 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.”
It was a double for the former Barcelona star as Argentina’s national team was named the Team of the Year after La Albiceleste won the World Cup after 36 years by beating France on penalties in a classic final in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the Sportswoman of the Year while Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen won the 2023 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award after coming out of a near-death cardiac arrest at the Euro 2020 to continue playing football.
Full awards list
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award: Lionel Messi
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Laureus World Team of the Year award: Argentina men’s football team
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award: Carlos Alcaraz
Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award: Christian Eriksen
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Catherine Debrunner
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Eileen Gu
Laureus Sport for Good award: TeamUp (A programme for children displaced by war by Barcelona and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski)
