Lionel Messi And Kylian Mbappe Headline Laureus World Sports 2023 Awards; Steph Curry, Verstappen Also Feature

• Lionel Messi will square off with Kylian Mbappe for the 2023 Laureus Sports Awards
• The two teammates will also battle with Rafael Nadal, Max Verstappen, among others
• Sydney McLaughlin and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce headline the women's category

Lionel Messi will face off with his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe for the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards.

The two were nominated for the award alongside other heavy hitters like Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen and four-time NBA Champion Steph Curry.

Both players were on target on Sunday, 19th February, as PSG staged a comeback to beat Lille 4-3 and stop their winless run of three games.

Messi will be the favourite after beating Mbappe's France to the FIFA World Cup trophy in Qatar last year. The Argentine is also perfectly poised to win a record eight Ballon d'Or title later this year.

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But he will get extreme competition from Curry, who led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA title in eight years. Verstappen will also be in the running after leading a near-perfect Formula 1 campaign that saw him win a second successive championship.

Rafael Nadal's triumphs in the Australian and French Opens saw him reach 22 majors and clinch a nomination slot as well. Mondo Duplantis will also be eyeing a stake at this year's title after breaking his own Pole Vault world record three times last year.

Female category

In the women's category, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce leads a strong list that also has World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year in Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Fraser-Pryce underlined her credentials as the best sprinter of all time with another win at the Athletics championships in Oregon, while McLaughlin won the 400 metres hurdles.

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Other nominees include Tennis number 1 Iga Swiatek, Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, Ski World Champion Mikaela Shiffrin and swimmer Katie Ledecky.

Nigerian sprinter Tobi Amusan and the Morocco national team have been nominated in the breakthrough of the year category.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony between March and May this year.

Messi-Mbappe bromance

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe's deadly combo proved pivotal in guiding Paris Saint-Germain past Lille on Sunday afternoon.

The Argentine magician scored a 95th-minute free-kick to give Paris Saint-Germain a 4-3 win over Lille in an extraordinary Ligue 1 game on Sunday.

Messi's late winner came after PSG had squandered a two-goal lead and fallen 3-2 behind, with Kylian Mbappe grabbing a late equaliser before the Argentine's stunning strike.