Messi and Mbappé nominated for Sportsman of the Year Laureus Award

The nominees for the Laureus World Sports Awards have been announced. The Laureus Awards is an annual event that honors athlete for their hard work throughout the year.

Six nominees were selected across seven categories, with six programmers shortlisted for the Laureus Sport for Good Award. The categories include Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Breakthrough of the Year, Team of the Year, Sport for Good, Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, and Comeback of the Year.

Messi and Mbappé among nominees for Sportsman of the Year

PSG teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé were both nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. Messi accomplished the one big victory he’d since been missing when he led Argentina to their third World Cup title this year. Mbappé represented France, playing against Messi, and his hat-trick in the World Cup final earned him the Golden Boot as the leading goalscorer of the tournament.

“What impressed me most [about Messi] is the continuity to perform year after year at a high level that he always shows,” said former Portugal player Luis Figo. “Sometimes it’s not easy. It’s more possible to achieve at a big level, but to maintain this level year after year is very, very uncommon.”

Tennis legend Rafa Nadal, NBA star Stephen Curry, and F1 driver Max Verstappen were among other athletes nominated for the honor.

Messi has won the award once before, in 2020, when he shared it with Lewis Hamilton. Nadal has won it twice, in 2011 and 2021, and Verstappen was last year’s winner. 24-year-old Mbappé has not won it yet, but the rising star is already collecting awards fast in his athletic career.

“[Mbappé] plays for one of the biggest clubs, so he’s going to have a chance to win the team awards too, that are going to allow the individual more opportunities to achieve individual awards,” said Figo. “I think in the future, depending on how much he wants to work, sacrifice, and dedicate to this beautiful profession, he has all the chances to be number one in the future.”

Alexia Putellas, Katie Ledecky among other stars nominated for Laureus Awards

There are no shortage of big-name stars up for awards at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards. Amongst the nominees for Sportswoman of the Year are Spanish soccer star Alexia Putellas, tennis player Iga Świątek, and swimmer Katie Ledecky. Putellas led FC Barcelona to a perfect season and won her second Ballon d’Or. Świątek was No. 1 in women’s tennis by a landslide, winning in both Paris and New York. Ledecky won four gold medals at the World Aquatics Championship, setting a record for most golds won by a female swimmer with a total of 22.

“Sportswoman of the Year nominee Iga Świątek, what can you say?” said former WTA No. 1 Monica Seles. “Starting off the year outside of the top 20 and then entering and winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open…I think for her to win the second one and truly solidify how well she plays on that surface was to me very impressive.”

Young tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina have been nominated for the Breakthrough of the Year Award and the Argentina men’s national soccer team and Real Madrid are among the nominees for Team of the Year.

Full list of nominees for Laureus World Sports Awards

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD

LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD

LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR AWARD

LAUREUS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY AWARD

LAUREUS WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD

LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD