Messi crowned Sportsman of Year

PARIS – Lionel Messi collected more trophies, making history in the process, when landing two prizes at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards.

The Argentine icon, who helped his country to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022, has enjoyed another memorable 12 months despite coming in for criticism from the odd disgruntled Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) supporter.

Having become a world champion, allowing him to emulate the achievements of fellow all-time greats such as Diego Maradona and Pele, Messi has landed the FIFA Best Award and named Sportsman of the Year by Laureus. Argentina won the Team of the Year gong at the latest glitzy gathering in Paris, allowing Messi to become the first man to scoop individual and collective awards in the same year.

Special

Messi said when accepting his personal accolade: “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 teammates, 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.

“I want to thank the Laureus Academy – what makes these awards so special to us as athletes is the fact that they are voted for by these incredible champions, my heroes, and this puts my sporting achievements in true context. This is the first time I have been the sole winner of the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award and after a year when we finally won another prize we had been chasing for a long time, at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, it’s an honour to be able to hold this Laureus Statuette.”

Messi went on to say of following in some illustrious footsteps: “I was looking at the names of the incredible legends that won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award before me: Schumacher, Woods, Nadal, Federer, Bolt, Hamilton, Djokovic… it really sunk in what unbelievable company I’m in and what a unique honour this is.

“And I am even happier that the team I was a part of at the World Cup have also been recognised by the Laureus Academy tonight. The World Cup was an unforgettable adventure for us, and I can’t describe how it felt to return to Argentina and see what our victory had given to the people of my country.”

(Pic: Goal.com) Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez has run the risk of breaking Saudi Arabian law after posting racy bikini pictures on Instagram. The supermodel relocated to Riyadh to stay with Ronaldo after the Portuguese signed with Al-Nassr. However, the model might run into trouble for posting pictures in a bikini beside a swimming pool on her Instagram account. Saudi law prohibits ‘over-exposed or semi-nude’ images from being posted on social media. It also prohibits clothing that is skinny, see-through and has necklines on show.

(Pic: Goal.com) PSG and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi was crowned Sportsman of the Year at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards.