Lionel Messi added two further accolades to his ever-growing collection on Monday, after the World Cup winner and wife Antonela Roccuzzo made their appearance on the red carpet in Paris.
The Argentine World Cup winning captain swapped his Paris Saint-Germain kit for a tuxedo to match his historic night as he became the first person to win both individual and team honours in the same year.
His wife partnered him in an equally stunning black dress as the pair drew the lenses in the French capital with sport’s biggest stars in attendance for the glamourous award ceremony.
Argentina claimed the Team of the Year honour at the Laureus World Sports Awards, while the 35-year-old was singled out for the Sportsman prize.
Jamaican printer Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the Sportswoman prize, while Man United‘s Christian Eriksen won Comeback of the Year following his return to football after suffering a cardiac arrest when representing Denmark during Euro 2020.
Lionel Messi picked up both individual and team honours at the Laureus Sports Awards
The Argentina captain attended the ceremony in Paris with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo
Sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce spoke to the crowd after winning up the Sportswoman Award
Men’s tennis world number two Carlos Alcaraz was awarded World Breakthrough of the Year at the awards, which are voted for by the sporting greats who make up the members of the Laureus Academy.
PSG star Messi – who recently returned to training after landing in hot water with his club for an unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia – was in attendance at the awards with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo.
Argentina captain Messi scored seven times and won the Golden Ball during his country’s route to the 2022 World Cup trophy in December.
Messi said: ‘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.
‘I want to thank all my team-mates, 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.’
Sprinter Fraser-Pryce won the Sportswoman accolade after becoming the first person to win five golds in an individual track event at the World Athletics Championships after taking glory in the 100m final in July 2022.
At the ceremony, the 36-year-old said: ‘I was thrilled to be nominated alongside such inspiring women athletes, and to win this award, voted for by some of the greatest sportsmen and women of all time, is just amazing.
‘This is the sixth time I’ve been nominated in this category, so to finally hold the Laureus statuette in my hands is one of the greatest honours of my career.’
Alcaraz’s rise to the upper echelons of world tennis – in which he won last year’s US Open as a 19-year-old – have also been recognised with the Breakthrough trophy.
Christian Eriksen won Comeback of the Year after returning to play following a cardiac arrest
Catherine Debrunner won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability prize
After winning three Olympic medals in Beijing last year, Eileen Gu won the Action accolade
US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz won the Breakthrough award for his success throughout 2022
Robert Lewandowski (left) and representatives from TeamUp collected their award as well
Swiss athlete Catherine Debrunner was awarded the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability prize after winning her first marathon, the 2022 edition of the famous Berlin event.
American-born Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu was recognised in the award’s Action category after claiming two gold medals and a silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The Laureus Sport for Good award was given to TeamUp, a programme for displaced children as a result of war.
It was set up by Robert Lewandowski, with the Barcelona and Poland striker also in attendance at Monday’s awards ceremony in Paris, alongside Birgit Van Delft and Ramin Shahzamani, who are representatives from the project.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
