Published On 3/6/2026
The jury of the prestigious “Princess of Asturias” awards in Spain announced that the Argentine star Lionel Messi would be awarded the 2026 Sports Award, adding this high honor to his treasure trove.
The committee awarded the Intermiami star the award in recognition of his exceptional career that made him one of the greatest football players in history.
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With this honour, the Princess of Asturias Foundation recognizes the sporting, social and international standing of a player whose influence has transcended football to become a global symbol of contemporary sport.
A career full of achievements
Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina, in 1987, and spent most of his football career at Barcelona, the club with which he was associated for more than twenty years, during which he won 34 titles, including:
- 10 Spanish League titles.
- 4 Champions League titles.
- 7 titles in the Spanish King’s Cup.
An unprecedented individual achievement
Behind this honor is a pyramid of individual achievements that seem impossible to replicate in the modern era; Messi is not competing with anyone except his own legend.
This is evident in his sole position on the throne of international awards, as he is the only player in the history of football who succeeded in capturing eight Golden Ball awards as an unprecedented individual achievement, in addition to six European Golden Shoe awards as the best scorer on the Old Continent, in addition to achieving the Golden Ball award for the best player in the World Cup twice.
The painting would not have been complete without the final and most dramatic chapter in his international career. After years of defeats and tears with “Tango,” Messi led Argentina to tame the continent in the “Copa America,” before lifting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in a cinematic scene that will remain engraved in the minds of generations as one of the greatest sports chapters in history.
Among many accolades, in 2020 he became the first footballer and the first Argentine to receive the Laureus World Sports Award for Best Athlete, and was also selected in the Best Team for the Ballon d’Or of All Time.
