Barcelona legend Lionel Messi to receive USA’s highest civilian honour | OneFootball

There is no end to the list of accolades that Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has won and the number of times he has been crowned the best in the world over the past few decades.

Having won it all with Barcelona, the player left Catalonia against his will and conquered the French league with PSG before leaving for Inter Miami in the MLS.

Despite being relatively away from European football now, the player continues to shine on the field and even won the Copa America last year.

In fact, he was crowned the MLS Player of the Season for the recently concluded campaign.

A new addition

Now, as relayed by CBS News, the Argentine phenom and Barcelona legend is set to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the United States of America in what is a massive honour and recognition of his greatness.

Lionel Messi set to receive a special honour in the USA. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honour in the USA and is bestowed by the President of the state to individuals who excel in their field and ‘make America a better place.’

Despite moving to the country just a few years ago, Messi’s name has quite quickly found itself in the offices at the White House and outgoing president Joe Biden has nominated him as one of the 19 recipients of the honour this year.

Having won the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and then the Copa America once more last year, Messi has truly completed the sport and is enjoying himself with his former Barcelona teammates at Inter Miami.

Last season, he racked up 21 goals and 11 assists for his team in the MLS playing alongside the likes of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez and will hope he can continue the same next season.

Notably, he will participate in the Club World Cup scheduled for later this year, a competition for which Barcelona themselves have not qualified.