Messi also received an award on behalf of the Argentina men's football team, who were named World Team of the Year after their triumph at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Jamaican Fraser-Pryce enjoyed an outstanding 2022, which included winning the 100m gold at the World Athletics Championships.
* Cristiano Ronaldo's hopes of clinching the Saudi Pro League at the first attempt suffered another setback when his Al-Nassr club were held to a 1-1 home draw by lowly Al-Khaleej in Riyadh on Monday. League leaders Ittihad, meanwhile, thrashed Abha 4-0 to open up a five-point cushion over second-placed Al-Nassr with four games to play.
* Australian Michael Matthews timed his final effort to perfection to win a rain-affected stage three at the Giro d'Italia on Monday, following a 216-km ride from Vasto to Melfi. Matthews and Mads Pedersen were neck-and-neck until the final corner, but the Australian, who was set up perfectly by his Jayco-AlUla team, moved in front on the home straight to emerge victorious and claim a first stage win at the Giro since 2015.
* Everton’s energy and tactical discipline were key to their stunning 5-1 Premier League victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday, but manager Sean Dyche has cautioned it is just another step in their battle to avoid relegation this season. Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dwight McNeil both scored braces to go with an own goal from Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele as Everton profited from swift and incisive counter-attacks to secure three points that moved them out of the relegation zone.
* A man that US prosecutors charged with supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics pleaded guilty on Monday, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office Southern District of New York said. Eric Lira, 43, last year became the first individual charged under the Rodchenkov Act, a federal law that allows criminal charges against doping conspirators at events involving US athletes, broadcasters and sponsors.
* Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his players must avoid falling into the trap of trying to avenge last year's Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid when the teams meet on Tuesday at same stage of tournament. City will play the first leg of their last-four clash against Real in Madrid.
* Sampdoria will play in Serie B next season after a 2-0 loss at Udinese on Monday sealed their relegation with four games remaining in the season. Sampdoria are bottom of Serie A on 17 points, 13 points off 17th-placed Hellas Verona who won 1-0 at Lecce on Sunday. Local rivals Genoa secured promotion to Serie A on Saturday after one season away.
* Lionel Messi is training with Paris St Germain again, the Ligue 1 team said on Monday, after the forward was suspended for making a trip to Saudi Arabia and missing a training session as a result. French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with the squad the day after the Ligue 1 leaders' 3-1 defeat to Lorient last month.
* United States Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, looking for leadership and experience, named Jim Furyk as one of his vice captains on Monday for this year's event in Italy. Furyk boasts a wealth of Ryder Cup experience having played in the biennial competition between the United States and Europe in nine consecutive editions from 1997 while serving as captain in 2018 and vice captain in 2016 and 2021.
* Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti believes that gaining a mental advantage over Manchester City will be as important as the result when the two teams meet at Santiago Bernabeu in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday. Ancelotti said that beating Osasuna 2-1 to clinch the Copa del Rey title on Saturday had given his side a much needed confidence boost after a run of poor results as they prepare to host Pep Guardiola's team who are in superb form.
* Al Duhail won the Qatar Stars League for the eighth time on Monday when four goals from striker Michael Olunga helped them to a 5-2 win over Al Shamal on the final matchday. The Doha club needed the victory to secure a treble after earlier triumphs in the Qatar Cup and League Cup and had all but got the job done after the first 35 minutes at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
