Lionel Messi has been named Sportsman of the year at the Laureus World sports Awards.
In 2020, the Argentine captain became the first footballer in history to be named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. However, he was not the outright winner as he shared the award with Lewis Hamilton on the night.
He has now won the award for the second time and is the first athlete to win the team and individual awards in the same year.
The award winners were voted for by a selection of sporting greats who make up the members of the Laureus Academy.
On receiving the award, Messi said, according to BBC:
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.
Meanwhile, Messi has returned to training with Paris St Germain following his suspension over an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.
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)
