Lionel Messi wins at the Laureus Sports awards

Lionel Messi wins at the Laureus Sports awards: Lionel Messi described winning the Laureus award as a “special honour” when he was named   World Player of the Year in Paris.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward was the winner of the award in 2020 along with Lewis Hamilton, but took the honor alone this time after leading Argentina to the World Cup last year.

Messi won the World Cup for the first time in his career and shone in Qatar, then won the Ballon d’Or as the tournament’s best player, and on Monday also collected the Laureus Team of the Year award for the victorious Argentina side. .

The 35-year-old player said: “This is a special honor, especially since the Laureus World Sports Awards are in Paris this year, a 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 in PSG because   I have not achieved 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 special for us as athletes is the fact that they are voted for by these amazing champions, my heroes, and this puts my sporting achievements in a true context.

“This is my first time being the only winner of the Laureus Best Sportsman Award and after a year when we won another award that we were chasing for a long time, at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, it is an honor. to be able to hold this Laureus Statuette.”