Lionel Messi is back at PSG and in Paris earlier than expected after his suspension. There, the Argentinian world champion receives an honor for himself and the World Cup winners from Qatar.
World soccer champion Lionel Messi is from the Laureus World Sports Academy been awarded. At the Vendôme Pavilion in Paris, Messi received the “Sportsman of the Year Award” and also accepted the so-called “Team of the Year Award” on behalf of the Argentina national team.
Messi is the first athlete to win both the individual and team awards in the same year, Laureus announced.
Messi in ‘incredible company’
Messi was flattered. “This is a special honour, especially as this year the Laureus World Sports Awards will be presented in Paris, the city that has welcomed my family since we came here in 2021,” he said. “I looked at the names of the incredible legends who won the award before me: Schumacher, Woods, Nadal, Federer, Bolt, Hamilton, Djokovic. That’s when I realized what incredible company I was in.”
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce honored as Sportswoman of the Year
Jamaica’s sprint queen, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, was named Athlete of the Year. She had won gold in the 100m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Newcomer of the year is Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz; the honor for comeback of the year went to soccer star Christian Eriksen, who died after suffering a cardiac arrest with a defibrillator in the English premier league plays.