Lionel Messi has done it again, and this time he has not even needed to kick a ball to make history. The Inter Miami CF and Argentina legend has been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, one of Spain's most prestigious honours, and in doing so he becomes the first individual football player ever to be recognised by the committee in this way. Not bad for a Tuesday.
The Princess of Asturias Awards have been running since 1981 and cover everything from arts to science to sport, so for a footballer to finally break through as a solo recipient really does say something about the level Messi has operated at for so long. Previous sporting recipients have included entire teams and collective movements, which makes this individual recognition stand out even more.
At 37, Messi is still playing in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami while also turning out for Argentina when international duty calls. Some players at that age are doing punditry or opening restaurants. Messi is collecting awards that nobody has ever collected before. It is honestly a bit ridiculous, and you mean that in the most complimentary way possible.
Now, as a Manchester United fan, this writer has spent years watching Messi make life very uncomfortable for everyone, including some fairly painful Champions League nights involving a certain red half of Manchester. But credit where it is due, and there is a mountain of credit due here. Messi is simply the kind of player that comes along once in a generation, if you are lucky, and the footballing world has been very lucky indeed.
The award is a fitting tribute to a career that has included World Cup glory, multiple Champions League titles, a record number of Ballon d'Or wins, and a consistency that has made even the most stubborn of football fans run out of arguments. Spain honouring him this way feels entirely right given how much of his career was built on Spanish soil at Barcelona.
Messi keeps adding to the legacy and honestly at this point nobody should be surprised. The man just cannot stop winning things. Let me know your thoughts.