Messi congratulates Rafael Nadal on winning the Laureus World Sportsman award in 2021.
Photo: Handout/Laureus/Getty Images
Lionel Messi and Rafael Nadal are two of the athletes nominated for the Laureus Awards in the category of ‘Best International Male Athlete of 2022’. Through Instagram, the Spanish tennis player stated that the Argentine soccer player had to win it.
“It is an honor to be nominated again as the best athlete of the year at the Laureus awards, but this year… Come on Leo Messi, you deserve it,” Nadal wrote. This gesture generated an emotional response from the PSG star, who was full of praise for the Spaniard.
“That an athlete as great as you put that on me leaves me speechless… Thank you very much Rafael Nadal. You also deserve it for the way you compete every time you go out on the field. You are a winner. We still have a lot of competition there, huh? Everyone deserves the Laureus Award this year,” Messi replied after reposting the publication.
Rafael Nadal had a difficult season due to physical problems and his first paternity. However, he managed to be crowned at Roland Garros and the Australia Open. For his part, Lionel Messi established himself in Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and was champion of the Qatar 2022 World Cup with Argentina.
Other athletes who compete with Messi and Nadal for the category are Max Verstappen (Formula 1 champion); Kylian Mbappé (runner-up in the world with France); Stephen Curry (NBA Champion with Golden State Warriors) and Mondo Duplantis (World Pole Vault Champion).
The Laureus Awards are a highly prestigious award in the world of sports. They are awarded by the Laureus World Sports Academy to the best athletes taking into account annual merits. This distinction is classified as the sports “Oscar” and was born in the year 2000.
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