"It Is Nice To Receive Recognition Of This Type" - Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi

After becoming the first athlete to ever win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Laureus World Team of the Year Awards in the same year, Argentine phenom Lionel Messi gave an inspirational statement.

After becoming the first athlete to ever win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Laureus World Team of the Year Awards in the same year, Argentine phenom Lionel Messi gave an inspirational statement.

The PSG player was named the 2023 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, while Argentina's national team was recognized as the 2023 Laureus World Team of the Year.

The captain of the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup accepted both his individual medal and the team award at the awards event held on Monday in Paris.

Messi recounted in his acceptance speech how unhappy he was with the Argentine national team despite his club successes.

He stated that his greatest desire was to help Argentina win the World Cup.

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".