Soccer
Princess Leonor was in charge of presenting it to him in the presence of the King and Queen
Lionel Messi.LAPRESSE
JUAN CASTRO / RYAN MITCHELL
Updated
Lionel Messi (Rosario, 1987) was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports this afternoon in a solemn ceremony at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, the usual venue for these Awards, which bring together each year the most outstanding figures in the Arts, Sciences, Culture, and Sports.
Leo received the award from Princess Leonor, in the presence of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. The Campomar Theater gave Leo a tremendous ovation... that reached all the way to Argentina, homeland of the star.
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Messi arrived in the official car at the Theater at around 6:10 p.m. (20 minutes before the event) and made his way toward the venue in front of hundreds of people who crowded together to see him, especially in some cases, and the rest of the award winners.
Leo is a four-time Champions League winner, World champion, two-time Copa América champion, and a player with almost all the records in this sport worldwide. But that is not enough to be Princess of Asturias for Sports. The Jury -the director of MARCA, Juan Ignacio Gallardo, is one of its members- has also recognized the Argentine's charitable work: his work, for example, with the Leo Messi Foundation and as a UNICEF ambassador, focused on promoting access to education and healthcare for children in vulnerable situations. Recently (another example) he donated money to help restore the Madrid mountain range burned by last summer's wildfires. That... plus everything he does that is not publicly known. An essential aspect for this Princess of Asturias Award.
After the ceremony, Leo will head directly to Asturias airport to fly straight to New York, where tomorrow he plays with Inter Miami in the MLS.