Lionel Messi's emotional words after winning Laureus Awards
The Argentine star spoke in Paris after picking up another award
"Beyond what we achieved, we have to highlight the way we did it; with hard work, comradeship, humility and respect. That's what's important. Many people identified with this team, not only in Argentina. Everyone wants to win but the most important thing is respect," said Messi as he took to the stage at the Laureus awards gala for the second time.
After collecting the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award, Leo collected the team award from Carles Puyol. "It is an honour to present the award to my friend and former teammate at Barça," said Puyol.
Claudio Tapia, president of the AFA, also accompanied Messi at the award ceremony. "After 26 years, the emblem of our national team achieved something he had dreamed of so much, and the team managed to give great joy to all the Argentine people, who were eager to feel proud of their country. They made us proud of our flag. When the team wants the same thing, there is no such thing as impossible," said Tapia.
Lisandro Martinez, a United player and also a world champion in Qatar, recalled that all Argentine players "came from being very low, and we all gathered our hunger to be world champions".
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