Laureus Awards 2023: Football icon Lionel Messi and Tennis legend Rafael Nadal are amongst the list of athletes who have been nominated for the Laureus Awards 2023. The nominees for the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Awards were launched recently which also had Kylian Mbappe, two-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen, pole vaulting star Mondo Duplantis and NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry. Rafael Nadal had recently backed Lionel Messi to win Laureus Sports Awards 2023. The Argentine has now reverted to Nadal’s comments through his social media account. Follow Laureus Awards 2023 Updates with InsideSport.IN.
Laureus Awards 2023: Messi RESPONDS & THANKS Nadal’s on backing him of winning Laureus Award, says ‘I am speechless’ – Check Out
The six-time Ballon D’or winner while reacting to Nadal’s comments said, “That an athlete as great as you put that on me leaves me speechless… Thank you very much @rafaelnadal, you also deserve everything for the way you compete every time you goout on the pitch. You are a winner, we still have a lot of competition there? Everyone deserves it @laureussport this year the truth!!!”.
This year Laureus Awards will celebrate not only athletes who thrilled sports fans over the previous 12 months but several who will end their careers with a claim to be the greatest in the history of their sport.
Laureus Awards 2023: Messi RESPONDS & THANKS Nadal’s on backing him of winning Laureus Award, says ‘I am speechless’ – Check Out
Rafael Nadal’s admiration for Lionel Messi
Soon after the nominations for the award this year, Nadal took to Instagram and wrote, “A honour to be nominated again to the Laureus Sports Man of the year. But this year..,” He then posted another video of Lionel Messi’s nomination. “Come on Leo Messi! You deserve it,”. Nadal has won the award twice so far in 2011 and 2021, Messi bagged the honour in 2020.
Both Messi and Nadal have enjoyed incredible trophy-laden careers in their respective sports. The Spaniard admitted that he was emotional watching another sporting great (Messi) lift the ultimate prize. He had said, “Messi lifting the World Cup made me happy. That someone so great culminates with a title that was missing, of this caliber, with all that it means for Argentina, It seemed fair to me, I enjoyed it and I was moved.
“Without going with Argentina, when Messi scored the third goal, tears came to my eyes because of the emotion of seeing someone so great achieve what was missing and that he had suffered so much to achieve it.”
Laureus Awards 2023: Messi RESPONDS & THANKS Nadal’s on backing him of winning Laureus Award, says ‘I am speechless’ – Check Out
About Laureus Awards 2023
- The nominees for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award include both serial winners and ground-breakers.
- The Laureus Sport for Good Award recognises an individual or organisation who, in the opinion of the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, has made a significant contribution to transforming the lives of children and young people through sport.
- Six nominees have been selected across seven nominated Laureus categories, with six inspirational programmes also shortlisted for the Laureus Sport for Good Award.
- More than 1,400 members of the Laureus Global Media Nominations Panel decided on all but one category – the shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsperson with a Disability Award was chosen by a specialist panel from the International Paralympic Committee.
- A vote by the 71 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy include Olympic champions, world-record breakers, athletes who redefined their sports and who now make up the ultimate jury
- The Award winners in these categories and recipients of the Awards presented at the discretion of the Laureus World Sports Academy will be announced at the Laureus World Sports Awards in the Spring.
Laureus Awards 2023: Messi RESPONDS & THANKS Nadal’s on backing him of winning Laureus Award, says ‘I am speechless’ – Check Out
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