Lionel Messi says 'special honour' to win Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award

Lionel Messi was crowned World Sportsman of the Year in Paris on Monday evening, saying winning the Laureus Award was “a special honour”.

He was a joint winner of the award alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2020, but this time the Paris Saint-Germain forward took sole honours for leading Argentina to World Cup glory last year.

Messi, 35, won the World Cup for the first time in his glittering career in Qatar, earning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player in the process, and on Monday he also collected the Laureus prize for Team of the Year on behalf of the triumphant Argentina squad.

“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," he said.

“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.”

Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce scooped World Sportswoman of the Year after winning a record fifth 100 metres gold at the World Championships in 2022.

Manchester United and Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen won Comeback of the Year following his return to football after collapsing on the