The 25th Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in Madrid on April 22. Superstar footballer, Lionel Messi got nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award once again. 2023 winner Messi rejoined the shortlist after winning the coveted honour last year. He made history in 2020 when he won the award for the first time as a footballer and till now, no footballer has ever won this prominent award other than the Arjentina team’s captain.
Messi will be facing Manchester City’s striker Erling Haaland (Norway), tennis star Novak Djokovic (Serbia), world record holder pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis (Sweden), world champion sprinter Noah Lyles (USA) and Formula One star Max Verstappen (Netherlands) against him.
Messi led Manchester City to their first-ever Champions League trophy and the treble, leading to the club nominated for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award. He also won the Premier League and Champions League Golden Boot awards last year in his first season with Man City. The Spanish Women’s national football team has also been nominated in the same category as Man City. The nominees are selected by 1,300 members of the Laureus Global Media Panel.
