Lionel Messi is named TIME’s Athlete of the Year for 2023 after inspiring Inter Miami to their first ever trophy amid stunning start to life in MLS
- Messi has made an incredible impact on American football in a short period of time.
- As a result, the Argentina captain was named TIME Sportsman of the Year.
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news.
Lionel Messi has been named TIME Sportsman of the Year for 2023 following his exciting debut season with Inter Miami.
After signing with the MLS team in July, Messi helped Miami win its first League Cup trophy, scoring 10 goals in seven games en route to the trophy.
The Argentina captain was also instrumental in Miami’s run to the US Open Cup final, but Tata Martino’s men were defeated by the Houston Dynamo when he missed the game due to injury.
In his first US campaign, he scored a total of 11 goals in 14 games for Miami, which came close to making a late berth into the MLS playoffs.
Messi mania has truly swept across America, with his Miami jersey said to be so in demand that even co-owner David Beckham had to wait for it to be given to friends.
Lionel Messi has been named TIME’s Sportsman of the Year for 2023 following his exciting debut season with Inter Miami.
Messi has enjoyed an exciting start to life at Miami, helping them win their first League Cup trophy back in August.
The 36-year-old has already made an incredible impact on American football in a short period of time.
And following his extraordinary impact on soccer in the United States, TIME magazine named Messi its 2023 Athlete of the Year.
It caps an incredible year for the 36-year-old, who also won a record eighth Ballon d’Or award at the end of October.
Messi was duly rewarded for leading Argentina to World Cup glory at the end of 2022 before hitting the ground running in Miami this summer.
On his Inter debut, he came off the bench to score a stoppage-time free-kick to seal a 2-1 win over Mexican club Cruz Azul in the League Cup.
Beckham told TIME: “I remember getting in the car on the way back and saying to Victoria, ‘I’m not even sure I can go home.’
“You couldn’t have written it better. It was for MLS and for America. It was for the future of the game.”
Messi then wowed American fans on Miami’s run to the League Cup final before their efforts in the US Open Cup and MLS ultimately ended in disappointment.
Beckham and company will be hoping for changes in the 2024 campaign, which will be Messi’s first full season as a Miami player.