Messi was a joint winner in 2020 with Lewis Hamilton, but this time the PSG front received sole honors for leading Argentina to World Cup triumph last year.
Messi, 35, won the World Cup for the first time in his sparkling career in Qatar, receiving the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, and on Monday he accepted the Laureus prize for Team of the Year on behalf of Argentina’s triumphant squad.According dailymail.
Many consider Messi to be the greatest footballer of all time, and he is one of only a few athletes to have won a Laureus World Sports Award more than once.
“I was looking at the names of the incredible legends who won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award before me: Schumacher, Woods, Nadal, Federer, Bolt, Hamilton, Djokovic… it really sunk in what incredible company I’m in and what a unique honor this is,” Messi continued. And I’m equally thrilled that the World Cup team I was a member of was recognized by the Laureus Academy tonight. For us, the World Cup was a wonderful trip, and I can’t express how it felt to return to Argentina and see what our win had given to the people of my nation. It was an unforgettable experience that I will never forget.
Tennis legend Roger Federer is the only five-time winner of the Laureus World Sports Award. During the height of his career, the Swiss great won four in a row between 2005 and 2008, before reclaiming the accolade in 2018 after winning the Australian Open.
Tennis legends from other eras Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic are one prize back with four each, while Usain Bolt is also on four after his Olympic and World Championship triumphs.
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