The International Press Association (AIPS) has named PSG and Argentine forward Lionel Messi as the best athlete of 2022. The player became world champion in December.
420 journalists from 113 countries took part in the voting. The Argentine athlete got 962 votes of the respondents - 25.45%.
Second place went to track and field athlete Armand Duplantis (373 votes), and the third place was taken by a teammate of Messi - French forward Kylian Mbappé (366 votes).
Messi had seven matches at the 2022 World Cup in which he scored seven goals and made three assists. Mbappé also played in seven games, scoring eight goals and making two assists. The Argentine team defeated the French team in the final in a penalty shootout (3-3, 4-2 - penalties).