Lionel Messi and Rafael Nadal are two athletes nominated at the Laureus Awards in the Best International Male Athlete 2022 category. Via Instagram, the Spanish tennis player claimed that the Argentine footballer should have won it.
“I am honored to be nominated again for the Laureus Award as the best athlete of the year, but this year … Come on Leo Messi, you deserve it,” wrote Nadal. The gesture provoked an emotional reaction from the PSG star, who praised the Spaniard.
“To have a great athlete like you say this to me leaves me speechless… Thank you very much, Rafael Nadal. You also deserve it for the way you compete every time you step onto the field. You are the winner. We still have a lot of competitors there, right? Everyone deserves a Laureus award this year,” Messi replied after reposting the post.
Rafael Nadal had a difficult season due to physical issues and his first parenthood. However, he managed to be crowned at Roland Garros and the Australian Open. For his part, Lionel Messi established himself in Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and became Qatar 2022 World Cup champions with Argentina.
Other athletes who compete against Messi and Nadal for this category are Max Verstappen (Formula 1 champion); Kylian Mbappe (second in the world with France); Stephen Curry (NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors) and Mondo Duplantis (world pole vault champion).
The Laureus Awards are a very prestigious award in the world of sports. They are awarded by the Laureus World Sports Academy to the best athletes based on annual merit. This award is classified as a sports “Oscar” and was born in 2000.
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Source: La Opinion
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