Lionel Messi, an Argentine prodigy, delivered a moving speech after becoming the first athlete to win both the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and the Laureus World Team of the Year Awards in the same year.
The PSG player was named the 2023 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, and Argentina’s national team was recognised as the 2023 Laureus World Team of the Year.
At the awards ceremony held in Paris on Monday, the captain of the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup accepted both his individual award and the team award.
In his acceptance speech, Messi recounted his bitter experience with the Argentine national team despite his club glories.
He said winning the World Cup with Argentina was his biggest dream.
He said, “It is nice to receive recognition of this type, this year I was lucky to fulfill my great dream.
“I went through everything, many joys with Barcelona and many sadness with the national team, but I never stopped”.