Despite 2022 Heroics, Lionel Messi Crushes Max Verstappen’s Daunting Challenge to Bag Yet Another Accolade

2022 was a remarkable year for sports across the world. The championships, such as Wimbledon, the Super Bowl, and the T20 Men’s World Cup, among others, attracted huge numbers. But one that stood out was the FIFA World Cup, which ended the year on a high note for fans across the world. And with the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi, captain of the winning Argentinian side, has been assured of numerous accolades coming his way.

Starting his share of awards, L’Equipe, has awarded Lionel Messi with its prestigious ‘Champions of Champions’ award.  Argentina won the competition with a landslide margin over second-place French national footballer Kylian Mbappe.

Messi won the award with 808 points, while his teammate from Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe, received 381 points. The rest of the top five included tennis legend Rafael Nadal, Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel, and Formula One champion Max Verstappen.

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This prestigious award has been given out since 1946, but it has historically been difficult for athletes in team sports to win due to the stringent judgment standards. After winning it in 2011, Messi joined the likes of Diego Maradona, Paolo Rossi, Romario, and Zinedine Zidane as the winner and now holds the record for winning it for the second time in football.

Formula 1 and other records in Champions of Champions

So far, three F1 drivers have bagged the award. The first was won by Ayrton Senna in 1990, but it was Michael Schumacher who won it three times in a row from 2001 to 2003. The most recent in the sport was given to Lewis Hamilton in 2020 after he had won his joint-record seventh title.

The award over the years has been very diverse in individual sports. Usain Bolt holds the record for winning it five times, but the overall post-2000 era has been dominated by tennis, with Nadal and Roger Federer winning it four times each.

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While each sport is witnessing the transition of the younger generation coming up, it’ll be exciting to see which sport dominates the list. Will it be Kylian Mbappe, Max Verstappen, or Carlos Alcaraz? Only time will tell.