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Fans started trolling Lionel Messi as soon as Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic was announced as the 2024 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.
Messi was nominated for the honor along with Djokovic, Swedish-American track and field athlete Armand Duplantis, Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland, American track and field athlete Noah Lyles, and Belgian-Dutch motorsports racing driver Max Verstappen.
Last year, Djokovic won Grand Slam titles in Melbourne, Paris, and New York to move to 24 Majors, the highest among men and equal to Margaret Court's record for the all-time mark. The three titles were accompanied by numerous others.
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When Messi won the 2023 Ballon d'Or award, several fans did not approve of it and believed that Manchester City's Erling Haaland deserved the honor.
After Djokovic's win at the Laureus World Sports Award, fans flooded social media with posts mocking Lionel Messi. Here is a collection of their posts on X (formerly Twitter):
"Breaking: Fifa to hold crunch talks with The Laureus World Sports Academy for not considering Lionel Messi as the winner of Laureu World Sports Man Of The Year."
"Messi won the Wc in 2022 leading him to the 2023 ballon d'or and you're telling me he can't win the laureus award robbed. #JusticeForMessi"
"OFFICIAL: Novak Djokovic wins the 2024 Laureus World Sportsman Of The Year Fortunately Messi didn’t rob this one.."
"Messi fans will say they have been robbed," said another.
While another user criticized:
"Awards like Laureus and Ballon d'Or used to be legacy-defining once upon a time until they started distributing it as freebies to Novax and Messi respectively over the years. Losing Credibility every passing day. Cristiano Ronaldo was so true in exposing this award scandal."
In the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony, Lionel Messi became the first footballer to win the Sportsman of the Year award. In 2023, the Argentine once won it again and became the only sportsperson to win the award twice for a team sport.
Lionel Messi equaled record previously held by Tiger Woods in Laureus World Sports Awards nomination
Earlier, Lionel Messi was nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for his first season with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. The nomination was his eighth one for this award. The only other sportsperson to have these many nominations is golf legend Tiger Woods.
Laureus shared the news on their official X account. The post read:
"Exceptional Eight An incredible record of nominations for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, now held by two greats - Lionel Messi and Tiger Woods."
Lionel Messi bagged the 2023 Leagues Cup with Inter Miami and was named the best player in the tournament. He joined the MLS club in the summer of 2023 and thus could not play the full season which usually begins in March.
