Lionel Messi had beaten Kylian Mbappe for the second time within a space of a month. The two were last pitted against each other in the enthralling final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and France. The two players once again proved their greatness as Mbappe went on to score a scintillating hat-trick to help his country take the game to penalties after trailing 2-0 till the 80th minute of the regular time.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi led his Argentina to the ultimate glory by lifting the coveted Word Cup while also netting two goals in the final. The ‘La Pulga’ crowned his legacy for the divine wizardry he has put on show throughout his career, whereas a 23-year-old Mbappe had to soak in the heartbreak. The Frenchman also got beaten to the Golden Ball at the tournament, which could have been his had he swooped in the world title for a second time in a row.
Lionel Messi named athlete of the year by French magazine L’Equipe
Lionel Messi brought a perfect end to his 2022 by winning the only trophy that had eluded him all thee years – the World Cup. The Argentina captain was a force to be reckoned with, putting on a blistering show in all of the seven games his side played in Qatar enroute to glory, as is evident from his record five man-of-the-match awards at the tournament. As a result, Messi ended with a stunning 7 goals and 3 assists to take away the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament as well.
While Mbappe did triumph over his PSG teammate by topping the scoring charts with his eight goals superior to Messi’s seven, taking home the Golden Shoe, the France forward clearly appeared devastated while walking past the most important trophy that was placed there. Messi beat the ‘NexGen’ star to cement his legacy in Qatar, as almost three weeks on from it, the former Barca talisman has now toppled Mbappe to win L’Equipe’s athlete of the year award.
Messi has left behind some of the absolute brilliant sports personalities to win the award named as ‘Champions des Champions’ [Champions of Champions] by the French magazine. The 35-year-old, by accumulating 801 points, won the award by a staggering difference of 427 points between him and second placed Mbappe who earned 381 points. As listed, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner also beat the likes of tennis legend Rafael Nadal [285 pts], cyclist Remco Evenepoel [252 pts] and F1 driver Max Verstappen [196 pts].
What’s more significant is this is the first time in his career, Messi has been honored with this prestigious award by L’Equipe. The World Cup certainly was the cherry on top of the cake for Messi, who enjoyed a 2022 by scoring 35 goals and providing 35 assists in 51 appearances for both club and country. As a result, he was voted as the World’s Best Player by IFFHS, again ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.
And as a result of all the individual and collective achievements, Lionel Messi is now being tipped to add a stunning eighth Ballon d’Or to his cabinet which already has seven sitting there. A Champions League triumph with PSG, where Messi has already played a key-role in getting them through to the Round of 16, would undoubtedly settle the debate and earn the PSG superstar his record extending eighth Ballon d’Or.