And Messi, 35, became the first athlete to win two awards at one edition of the Laureus Awards, according to organizers.
Messi, who has been crowned the best player in the world with the Golden Ball seven times, won the Laureus prize for the best athlete in 2020, which he shared at the time with British Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at seven times.
Messi, whose side Paris Saint-Germain lifted his two-week ban from training and matches for traveling to Saudi Arabia without prior permission, attended the ceremony with his wife, Antonella.
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p class=””> The little “chip” competed for the prize with his colleague from the capital club, French striker Kylian Mbappe, who lost to Argentina in the Qatar World Cup final 4-2 on penalties, after drawing 3-3 in initial time and extra time. .
Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won world championship gold in the 100m for the fifth time in her career, at the Eugene Championships in the United States last August, won the award Sportswoman of the Year.
Spaniard Carlos Alcaras, winner of the 2022 United States Tennis Championships, who climbed to the first place in the world rankings for several weeks, won the prize for the best discovery, and the Danish Christian Eriksen received the ‘Best Comeback’ award after returning to the top tier of Manchester United’s England shirt after suffering a heart attack in the national team’s 2021 European Cup game.
The Swiss Catherine Debrunner, crowned with her first two titles at the Berlin and London 2022 marathons (best athlete for people with special needs), and the Chinese-American Elaine Gu, double Olympic champion in free skating (extreme sports), and the “Team Up” program which uses physical activity to help reduce stress in children displaced by war, represented by Robert Lewandowski, the Spanish striker from Barcelona.
The Laureus Awards have been handed out annually since 2000 by the Laureus Academy, a jury of 71 of the sport’s greatest legends.
This year’s ceremony was held in attendance for the first time since 2020, after two virtual versions due to Corona Virus restrictions.
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