Argentina smashes the Oscars of sport with a historic double: Lionel Messi and La Scaloneta, the best of the year at the Laureus Awards

Lionel Messi is the best athlete of 2023. He’s better than the French footballer kylian mbappe – even if they incredibly think the opposite at PSG. He is even better than the Dutch driver Max VerstappenSwedish athlete Duplantis worldthe Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal and the American basketball player Stephen Curry. This was defined by the prestigious jury of the Laureus Awards, the Oscars of sport, delivered this Monday at the Pavillion Vendome in Paris.

But Messi’s achievements, in times of turbulence at his club and with his future fraught with question marks, didn’t end there. Is that the Argentina national teamthe one that has Rosario as its captain and that comes from raising the World Cup in Qatar 2022, is the best team of the year. It is better than the England women’s soccer team, the France men’s rugby team, the real MadridTHE Golden State Warriors of the NBA and the team Red Bull Formula 1. Yes, Messi and La Scaloneta are the best of the best. And there is little to discuss.

It is the second time that Messi, 35, has won a Laureus after the one obtained in 2020. On that occasion, however, La Pulga shared the recognition with the British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton. This time it was solo and it was Verstappen’s turn to do it, winner in 2022. However, he is far from the five statuettes collected by the Swiss Roger Federer in his wonderful tennis career.

Chiqui Tapia also had the floor, who ensured that the victory in Qatar meant something “a great joy for all Argentines who felt proud of their country in a very special moment”. Is closed: “When there is a project and an entire team wants the same thing, nothing is impossible”closed the strong man of Argentine football who is touring Europe for commercial reasons.

It was another Argentinian evening in Paris, with Messi shining again after a hectic week due to the trip to Saudi Arabia which led to an unprecedented penalty from the PSG management. Hours before becoming the center of the sporting universe, La Pulga had at least obtained a pardon from his Qatari employers and had been able to train at the Camp des Loges, the sports venue of his club. It was the same day that in Spain they assured, without any support, that their future was linked to Al Hilal, the Arab team led by Ramón Díaz. For now, nothing is resolved. We only know that Messi and La Scaloneta are the best of the best.

The other winners

One day after lifting the Masters 1,000 in Madrid, Carlos AlcarazThe 20-year-old received the Laureus as the Breakthrough Athlete of 2023. He weighed in on his conquest of the United States Open in September last year and was the youngest world number one in history. Portuguese Luis Figo was the one who presented the statuette to the youngster from Murcia, who was seen having a fun chat with Messi.

As the best female athlete of 2022, the Jamaican athlete surprised Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce36 years old, who beat, among others, the Spanish soccer player Alexia Putellas, the American swimmer Katie Ledecky and the Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek.

the Danish footballer Christian EriksenThe 31-year-old won the award for best comeback of the year after recovering from cardiac arrest in June 2021 in the middle of the Euro Cup match against Finland.

The other categories fell to the Swiss Catherine Debrunner, as best Paralympic athlete; and the American skier Eileen Gu, as the best extreme athlete. Finally, the Polish footballer Robert Lewandowski presented the initiative with the prize in the “Sport for Good” category. team upa partnership between Save the Children, UNICEF Netherlands and War Child launched in 2022 in Poland with Ukrainian refugee children from the Russian invasion.