Sports
Lionel Messi Is First Footballer To Be Time Magazine’s ‘Athlete of the Year’
Lionel Messi has become the first ever individual football player to be named TIME Magazine’s ‘Athlete of the Year’.
This is coming after the Inter Miami player wrapped up his record-breaking eighth Ballon d’Or trophy celebration.
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Erling Haaland, the winner of the Manchester City Treble, and Kylian Mbappe, a World Cup finalist, lost to him for the coveted individual trophy.
He has also taken the United States by storm with 11 goals and five assists in his first 14 appearances for David Beckham’s side, who also won the Leagues Cup in the Argentinian captain’s first campaign.
Lionel Messi Is First Footballer To Be Time Magazine’s ‘Athlete of the Year’
After another historic season, the 36-year-old added a new individual honour to his trophy cabinet.
Messi was named the 2023 Athlete of the Year by TIME. In the magazine’s history, he is the first individual soccer star to get this honor.
In 2019, the US Women’s National Team were the first ever soccer players to be accredited with the award.
The other proceeding individual honours were scooped up by LA Lakers icon LeBron James, gymnastics superstar Simone Biles and baseball legend Aaron Judge.