One more trophy for Lionel Messi. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has just been crowned World Sportsman of the Year, at the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony, held in Paris on Monday 8 May. He succeeds Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen, winner in 2022.
The Argentine, present to attend the ceremony, had already been crowned in this category in 2020, tied with Lewis Hamilton. This time he recovers the trophy alone. Better yet, the "Pulga" made a double blow, then his Argentina team was crowned in the sports team of the year category, at the expense of the rugby France team, which had made the Grand Slam during the 2022 edition of the Six Nations Tournament.
🏆 Lionel Messi is the 2023 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.
The iconic footballer reached even greater heights last year, when he inspired @Argentina to a historic third @FIFAWorldCup triumph. 🇦🇷 #Laureus23 pic.twitter.com/kE0N7XzC1h
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 8, 2023
For 23 years, the Laureus World Sports Awards have annually recognised the previous year's sporting performance in seven individual and team categories. The winners are chosen by the members of the Laureus Academy, a jury composed of 71 of the greatest legends of sport, including Luis Figo and Fabio Capello, present this Monday Place VendĂ´me.
Fraser-Pryce Sportswoman of the Year, the Alcaraz revelation
Another footballer is honored: Christian Eriksen, winner of the World Comeback of the Year Award. A little more than a year after his cardiac arrest, which occurred on June 12, 2021, during Denmark's Euro 2000 match against Finland, the midfielder played all of his team's matches at the World Cup in Qatar.
On the women's side, the title went to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The indefatigable Jamaican sprinter, crowned 100m world champion in Eugene (United States) last summer at the age of 35, succeeds one of her compatriots and rivals on the straight: Elaine Thompson-Herah.
Other winners of the evening included Chinese-American freestyle skier Eileen Gu who won in the world extreme sports category and para-athlete Catherine Debrunner for the World Sportsman of the Year with a Disability award.
Look who's here 📸
📸 📸Lionel Messi is on the Laureus World Sports Awards Red Carpet 2023 #Laureus23 pic.twitter.com/WcIJZLgzUu
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 8, 2023
Lionel Messi attended the ceremony on Monday in Paris with his wife Antonella. In the morning, he had resumed training with PSG at the Camp des Loges.
