The former Barcelona striker was nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for his first season with Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami. This nomination marks the eighth time Messi has been selected, and only one other athlete has achieved this feat: golfer Tiger Woods.
Messi is again in the top “champion of champions”The Laureus World Sports Award is an annual award to honor athletes and sports teams with many achievements during the year, similar to the Oscars for sports. The nаme Laureus comes from Greek, meaning “laurel”, which is a symbol of victory, bearing the mark of “champion of champions”.
The Laureus homepage shared the news on their official account saying: “8 nominations for best – An incredible record for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, currently held by two legends – Lionel Messi and Tiger Woods”.
Lionel Messi won the 2023 Leagues Cup with the American football team Inter Miami and was voted the best player of the tournament. Previously, he joined the MLS arena in the summer of 2023 and could not play the entire season, when the tournament usually starts in March. But this season, Messi received the nomination
Erling Haaland, who had a great season and won the treble with Manchester City, was also nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award. Other candidates include American runner Noah Lyles, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, Swedish-American runner Mondo Duplantis, and Dutch-Belgian Formula One driver Max Verstappen.
Messi’s turbulent season
Inter Miami is currently third in Major League Soccer with 12 points after eight matches. Leading team New York Red Bulls has 14 points after seven matches. Although Philadelphia Union has the same number of points as Messi’s team, they are ranked second with a higher goal difference and have two games left to play.
On the morning of April 11, Monterrey Laados will face Inter Miami in the second leg of the Copa America quarterfinals at Steel Giant Stadium in Mexico. This is Messi’s first official match at this big game and he faces a great responsibility to help the home team reverse the 1-2 defeat in the first leg. More than 50,000 tickets for this match were sold out in a few hours, when fans came to the stadium almost just to watch Messi perform on the field.
A week ago, Monterrey won 2-1 against Inter Miami in a tense match that ended in an argument in the dressing room area, when Messi scolded coach Fernando Ortiz’s assistant Nicolas Sanchez. Later recordings showed that Ortiz insulted Miami coach Geraldo Martino, although he later apologized.
Without Messi due to ιnjury and having to be a spectator in the stands, co-owner Beckham’s team lost at home. Inter Miami fans are hoping that superstar Messi will return, along with his good partner Suarez, or old friends at Barca, midfielder Sergio Busquets, and defender Jordi Alba, to turn the situation around against host Monterrey. . After that, Messi and his Inter Miami teammates will face Sporting Kansas City on April 13, within the framework of the American tournament.
