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Boris Becker has congratulated Lionel Messi for winning the 2023 Laureus Sportsman of the Year and the Team of the Year awards.
Messi received his seventh nomination for the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for his exceptional performance in 2022. He was nominated alongside four-time Laureus Award winner Rafael Nadal, PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, NBA star Steph Curry, F1 driver Max Verstappen and pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis.
The Argentine beat out his fellow nominees for leading his country to the 2022 FIFA World Cup title. Aside from his stellar captaincy, Messi also scored seven goals and provided three assists over the course of the tournament and was crowned the winner of the Golden Ball award.
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The 35-year-old also accepted the award for the Laureus World Team of the Year on behalf of the Argentina national football team for their FIFA World Cup triumph. In doing so, he became the first athlete ever to win the two awards in the same year.
Boris Becker congratulated Messi on a "wonderful night."
"Wonderful night for Messi," Becker wrote on his Instagram story.
The German also reacted to the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner sharing a conversation with Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski on the red carpet.
"Both like to score goals," he posted.
Boris Becker congratulates Carlos Alcaraz for winning Laureus Breakthrough of the Year award
Boris Becker also congratulated Carlos Alcaraz for winning the 2023 Laureus Breakthrough of the Year award.
Alcaraz took to social media and shared a glimpse into his "very special night" at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
"A very special night in Paris! Thank you for this Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award! Thank you to the academy and everyone who made this possible. And of course congratulations to all the winners and nominees!," he captioned the post on Instagram.
Becker conveyed his well-wishes by commenting on Alcaraz's post.
"Congratulations 🙌 🙌 🙌 ," Becker wrote.
Alcaraz was nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award for his impressive achievements during the 2022 season. After starting the season outside of the ATP top 30, the Spaniard ended the year as the youngest World No. 1 in history, having won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. He also won two Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid in addition to two ATP 500 titles in Rio and Barcelona over the course of the year.
The World No. 2 beat out fellow tennis player Elena Rybakina, the Moroccan men's football team, figure skater Nathan Chen, golfer Scottie Scheffler, and track and field athlete Tobi Amusan to win the award.
