Lionel Messi was recently named Laureus Sportsman of the Year for remarkable 2022. He went on to win the World Cup that was missing from his trophy cabinet. Messi was phenomenal for Argentina and won the Golden Ball, making him the only soccer player to win it multiple times.

Laureus recognized his achievement by naming him the Sportsman of the Year ahead of the likes of Rafael Nadal and Max Verstappen. F1 legend Lewis Hamilton congratulated the Argentine for achieving the award. With this, Messi has peeped the seven-time F1 champion, who has four Laureus awards compared to five of Messi (two individuals and three with a team). 

Fans have taken the post positively, recognizing Hamilton for the special message.

Fans hail Lionel Messi and Lewis Hamilton

One of the Twitter handles posted Hamilton congratulating Messi for winning the prestigious Laureus Award. Hamilton wrote, “Legend!! So well deserved! Congrats!” It garnered thousands of views, with fans hailing the former F1 champion and Messi. Most of the fans acknowledged the fact that Hamilton took the time to send a message to Messi and praised the generosity of the English driver.

One of the fans wrote, “The GOATs of the best sports respecting each other love to see it.”  Many messages labeled both the athletes as GOATs of their respective sports stating GOAT recognizes GOAT. How often do we see sports legends recognizing each other? Hamilton has undoubtedly won over Messi and Argentina fans with his gesture. 

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It is a testament to the greatness and humility of the seven-time F1 champion. Hamilton himself has won the award on multiple occasions. Roger Federer holds the record for winning the prestigious award most times. Messi won the award twice this year. Argentina’s national team was presented with the Team of the Year for their World Cup-winning display. Messi has now gone past Hamilton in a number of Laureus trophies. 

Messi goes past Hamilton in winning the Laureus awards

Lionel Messi last won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award in 2020, the same year Hamilton won it for the first time for the same category. With this year’s award, Messi now has more Laureus Sportsman of the Year awards than Hamilton.

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Overall Hamilton has four Laureus Awards. He won it once for the Sportsman of the Year, once in 2008 for Breakthrough of the Year, once for Athlete Advocate of the Year in 2021, and once with the Mercedes F1 team in 2018. On the other hand, Lionel Messi won the Sportsman of the Year twice (2020, 2023), twice with FC Barcelona (2007- Laureus Spirit of Sport, 2012- Team of the Year), and once with Argentina (2023). 

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Let us know your thoughts on whether Lionel Messi can grab another Laureus Award in the future.