Argentina’s Lionel Messi has won the Laureus Award for best male athlete of 2022 on Monday, ahead of names such as Rafa Nadal, Kylian Mbappe and Steph Curry, boosted by his performance with the Argentina national team, which he led to the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

It is the second time Messi, 35, has won a Laureus – considered a sports Oscar – after the one he won in 2020, an award he then shared with British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

The man from Rosario, who succeeds Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, attended the ceremony at the Pavillon Vendome in Paris with his wife, Antonella.

Messi receives the award just after being reinstated to training with his club Paris Saint-Germain, who had sidelined him for a week for skipping a training session on 1 May when he flew to Saudi Arabia for a publicity engagement.

Argentina win Laureus Award as Messi does the double

Argentina’s world champion football team, captained by Leo Messi, won the Laureus Award for best team of 2022 ahead of Real Madrid and the Golden State Warriors.

The Albiceleste won their third world title in Qatar after defeating France on penalties on 18 December 2022.

The organisers noted that Messi has made history. It is the first time an athlete has been awarded twice at the Laureus (individually and as a team) since the awards began in 2000.

Argentina, who succeed Italy’s national football team, beat Real Madrid, Spain’s LaLiga champions and Champions League winners for the 14th time in 2022, and the Golden State Warriors, NBA champions for the fourth time in eight years.