Who will Lionel Messi battle for the 2023 Laureus Award for Best Male Athlete? 5 opponents including Kylian Mbappe revealed

Lionel Messi, along with his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe, has been nominated for the Laureus Award for best male athlete. The two club teammates are among the six nominees for the prestigious honor.

Apart from Messi and Mbappe, tennis legend Rafael Nadal, basketball ace Stephen Curry, Polevaulter Mondo Duplantis, and reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen have been nominated for the honor.

Nadal had a great 2022, winning the French Open yet again. Curry, meanwhile, has been ever impressive with the NBA side Golden State Warriors. Duplantis, on the other hand, has won the World Athlete of the Year award twice already in his career.

Verstappen, meanwhile, had a glittering 2022 as the Red Bull Racing driver was crowned the world champion.

Lionel Messi, on the other hand, 'completed' football in 2022 by winning the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played a starring role for La Albiceleste, scoring seven goals, including a brace in the final. He also provided three assists and was named the winner of the Golden Ball award for being the player of the tournament.

👀 Take a look at the full list of Nominees for the Laureus World Sports Awards 2023.

🏆 Who should the Laureus World Sports Academy Members select as the final Award winners?

#Laureus23 https://t.co/lwWLD2evo8

Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, was on the losing side in the FIFA World Cup final against Argentina. The Frenchman, however, scored eight goals during the competition, including a hat-trick in the final. He won the Golden Boot award for his performances.

Angel Di Maria made a stunning claim involving Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe

Former PSG superstar Angel Di Maria, who currently plays for Serie A side Juventus, recently made a stunning claim involving Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.

Di Maria claimed that PSG are wrong in giving Mbappe all the power despite Messi's presence in the team. In an interview with ESPN Argentina, Di Maria said (h/t Get French Football News):

“They’ve given [Mbappé] all the responsibility. They made him stay when he could’ve left and they’ve given him this huge responsibility so that it is him and no one else. They have given Mbappé all of this power, all the while, the best player in history (Messi) is playing next to him."

Messi & Mbappe hugging comp from yesterday’s game because it’s important 😭 https://t.co/AcQ0KJhR1r

Messi and Mbappe played starring roles as PSG recently defeated LOSC Lille by a scoreline of 4-3 to bring an end to their three-game losing streak.