Official: Lionel Messi named the 2023 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year

Barcelona legend and PSG superstar Lionel Messi has been named the 2023 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year 2023 at the awards ceremony held in Paris today.

The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony that honours individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. 

The honour has been awarded since 2000 and legendary sportsmen like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Michael Schumacher, and Usain Bolt, among others, have all won the accolade since its inception.

Messi himself had been named the Sportsman of the Year for 2020, along with Lewis Hamilton. Now, having won the FIFA World Cup 2022 with Argentina in Qatar, the 35-year-old has been honoured with the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year title once again for 2023.

🏆 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

“I had a lot of success at Barcelona but I still had this thorn with the Argentine team but I succeeded,” he said after accepting the award.

With this, the Argentina captain, who is being linked with a return to Barcelona this summer, becomes the first-ever footballer to win the award on more than one occasion.