Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi has been named Athlete of the Year by Time magazine. The publication released its list of the most outstanding personalities of the year in several categories. It is expected that the next one will publish will be its famous Person of the Year distinction.
Lionel Messi is TIME's 2023 Athlete of the Year https://t.co/qPR75Hgt6f pic.twitter.com/EXqxl08lZN
— TIME (@TIME) December 5, 2023
Messi not only won the Ballon d'Or and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but he has also had a remarkable performance in 2023 during his arrival at Inter Miami. Even though the team failed to reach the MLS playoffs this season, Time highlighted the Argentine's performance.
"Messi marked his arrival in the U.S. by scoring 10 goals in seven Leagues Cup games while leading Inter Miami to the championship. A nagging injury slowed his MLS pace come September, but that hardly mattered. At 36, two decades into his unparalleled career, Messi provided a singular stimulus to soccer in America," Time wrote.
On the day of Messi’s Inter Miami debut, Apple added some 110,000 U.S. subscriptions to its MLS Season Pass service, according to analytics company Antenna, the largest ever single-day spike and a 1,700% increase over the prior day.
Additionally, the magazine highlighted that Messi was the only player in Europe's major leagues to score 20 or more goals and assists in all competitions during his final season at PSG.
