There were
six world athletes
who received the news this Monday that they had been included among the finalists for the main category of the Laureus award, which chooses the best world athlete.
One of them was
Rafael Nadal
, who - although
he appreciated the nomination
- said publicly
that he prefers that one of his competitors
in the shortlist win it.
The disputed trophy is
one of the highest awards
given in the world of sports.
One that many long for.
And although the Spanish tennis player admitted
feeling honored
to have been taken into account, he encouraged one of the two footballers who make up the list with him to win it.
It was neither more nor less than
Lionel Messi,
to whom
he dedicated a story on Instagram
admitting that he wants him to be the one who gets the award that will be given this year for his performance in 2022.
Rafael Nadal's Instagram message to Lionel Messi.
"It is an honor to be nominated again at the Laureus Awards as 'best athlete of the year',
but this year..."
, Nadal wrote in a first publication in which he also shared the official video with which he communicated to the candidates for recognition.
His sentence ended in
a following post
that he made immediately after, completing his sentence.
Resharing the same video with all the athletes competing for the award, the Spaniard was blunt: "
Come on @leomessi, you deserve it,"
he published without hiding his admiration for the Argentine 10.
The 'Flea', for the first time as
world champion
after the consecration in Qatar 2022, was one of the two footballers included in the award list.
Nadal's second story dedicated to Lionel Messi.
The other soccer player in question is
Kylian Mbappé
, his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain and in the second World Cup, with France.
In addition to them and Rafael Nadal, who has already revealed who is his favorite to win the award - even if it means he loses - the Dutch pilot
Max Verstappen, the Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis, and the American basketball player Stephen Curry are also nominated.
Lionel Messi's nomination
Messi, 35, won
this award
twice in a row in 2019 and 2020, although on that second occasion it was shared with the British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.
"
He inspired Argentina to glory in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
and continues to raise the bar in football," argued the Laureus Academy to justify the choice of Rosario.
The nominees for the Laureus Awards - which have been held since 2000 - were determined through a
vote carried out by sports media from around the world
, although the winners will be chosen by a 71-member panel of the greatest sports legends from all over the world. times, and announced during the second quarter of this year.
The Argentine National Team was also nominated for the awards
The Argentine soccer team was not left out of the nominations and was included in the
"Best Team of the Year"
category , after winning the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Joining her in the vote are the England women's soccer team, the
Real Madrid men's team from Spain, the
France
men's rugby team
, the
NBA's
Golden State Warriors , and the
Red Bull
Formula 1 team.
1.
DS
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