Lionel Messi wins the 2026 Princess of Asturias Sports Award | OneFootball

The Argentine forward was recognized with this prestigious award, which has been presented since 1981.

As he prepares to play in the sixth World Cup of his career with the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi added another honor to his extensive list of individual titles. In this case, he was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award in Oviedo, Spain.

After being included on a list of 27 candidates from 12 different countries, the Albiceleste forward was chosen by the jury led by Teresa Perales and 12 experts to win this award, one of the most prestigious in the world, for the first time in his career.

Among the reasons for Messi’s selection, the jury’s official statement, in addition to “his dazzling talent,” highlighted “his exceptional sporting career and his outstanding and ongoing charitable work to promote access to education and healthcare for the most disadvantaged children.”

Continuing with the statement, they explained why the Argentine won this award: “He is the player who has won the most titles in football history, and he has also earned everyone’s respect and admiration for his exemplary behavior on the field and for his consistency, humility, and commitment to team play.”

Thanks to this, Messi became the first Argentine to win this award. It has been presented since 1981 and not only recognizes athletes, but also honors achievements in other fields in order to celebrate the scientific, technical, cultural, social, and humanitarian work carried out by individuals, institutions, groups of people, or institutions at the international level, with special attention to the Hispanic world.

On the other hand, because of this award, the Inter Miami forward will receive a sculpture by Joan Miró, a diploma, a badge, and 50,000 euros. These will be presented at a formal ceremony in Spain, presided over by the King and Queen and the Princess of Asturias.

Real Oviedo congratulated Messi

Real Oviedo, a team relegated from LaLiga this season and one of the most important clubs in the Asturias region, posted a message congratulating the Argentine for winning this award for the first time in his career.

“𝐷𝑎𝑧𝑧𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝐿𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑙 𝑀𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖, 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑛 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑠,” they wrote alongside a photo of him celebrating a goal with the Argentina national team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.