---
title: Messi Takes Spain's Highest Sports Honour and Tells Children That Being Good Matters More Than Winning
description: Accepting the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award, Lionel Messi told children that being a good person matters more than trophies. A lesson for every parent.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-25T09:22:57.179Z
updated: 2026-10-25T09:25:44.068Z
canonical: https://www.richmanmagazine.com/article/messi-princess-of-asturias-award
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-38455235.webp
categories: Sport, Fatherhood
content_type: Feature
publication: Rich Dad Magazine
schema_type: Article
about:
  - type: Person
    name: Lionel Messi
    description: Lionel Messi is an Argentine footballer and the most decorated player in the history of the game, with eight Ballon d'Or awards and the 2022 World Cup. He captains Inter Miami, is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and received the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports.
    url: https://messi.com
    jobTitle: Captain, Inter Miami
    worksFor: Inter Miami
---

On Thursday afternoon, 4,700 young people and schoolchildren filled the Palacio de los Deportes in Oviedo to hear the most decorated footballer in history. The tickets had sold out in 13 minutes. Lionel Messi stood in front of them and told them that the most important thing in football is to know how to lose and how to win.

Few people alive have earned the right to say that sentence more than Messi has this year. On 19th July, Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time in [the World Cup final in New Jersey](https://richdadmagazine.com/article/the-world-cup-s-greatest-upsets). In August his father, Jorge, died in Rosario at the age of 68 after a long illness. On 31st August Messi announced that he was retiring from the national team, closing an international career of 126 goals in 208 matches.

On Friday evening, three months after Spain took the World Cup from him, Spain gave him its highest sporting honour. Inside the Teatro Campoamor, before King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Infanta Sofía, Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish throne, presented the 39-year-old with the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. The theatre rose to its feet.

Messi is the first individual footballer to win the prize since the sports category was created in 1987. Xavi Hernández and Iker Casillas shared it in 2012, and the Spanish national team won it in 2010. In her address, Leonor described what millions of people have watched for two decades: 'He turned the extraordinary into routine by reading the game and deciding on the most effective option in fractions of a second, while respecting the collective essence above ego.'

## The jury rewarded his character as much as his trophies

A jury chaired by the Paralympic swimming champion Teresa Perales chose Messi from 27 international candidacies when the award was announced on 3rd June. The citation counted the 47 titles and the eight Ballon d'Or trophies, a record. It gave equal weight to his work off the pitch: he has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2010, and the Leo Messi Foundation funds access to education and healthcare for the most vulnerable children.

The jury also praised something no trophy cabinet can show. It said Messi had earned respect and admiration for his exemplary behaviour on the field, and for his consistency, humility and commitment to the team game. The prize itself is a sculpture by Joan Miró, a diploma, the foundation's insignia and €50,000.

## His words from June were written for children

When the news reached him in June, Messi was in Kansas City with the Argentina squad, preparing for the World Cup. He recorded a short video of thanks, and his written statement went further.

'I always say that I achieved nothing alone: behind every achievement there are fellow players, family and many people who helped me along the way,' he said. 'I hope my story inspires many boys and girls to keep dreaming, through hard work and a love for sport, while remembering that what matters most is striving to be a good person and upholding the values that sport teaches us.'

Those words carry weight for a reason you can trace back to Rosario. At 11, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. He was the smallest boy on the pitch, and his treatment required nightly injections. Barcelona agreed to pay for that treatment when he moved to Spain at 13 and joined the club's academy, La Masia, in 2000. He spent 21 years there and won 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies and four Champions League titles.

Before Friday's ceremony he spoke about what that academy taught him. 'When you are there, it is not only about playing football,' he said. 'Rather, football is the result of many things you have to do, many responsibilities you have.'

[If you are raising a child who sleeps in a football shirt](https://richdadmagazine.com/article/girls-play-sports-for-fun-not-to-win), his June statement is worth reading aloud at the dinner table. Messi does not promise children that hard work will make them champions. He tells them that talent and effort are the starting point, and that the person they become is the thing that lasts. He offers that lesson from a career that includes two Copa América titles, a World Cup in Qatar and a World Cup final lost in extra time.

## He let the award speak for him

Speeches at the ceremony are optional, and Messi chose not to give one. He held no press conference afterwards. The emotion of the week came out in a conversation with the Spanish news agency EFE before the ceremony, when he spoke about his father. 'My father was extremely excited about this award,' he said. 'He is surely enjoying it too.' He added that this award goes beyond what a player does on the pitch.

He spent around 36 hours in Oviedo. He skipped the reception after the ceremony and flew straight back to the United States.

## A defeat in New Jersey on Saturday

Less than a day later, Messi was back in New Jersey, the state where he lost the World Cup final in July. Inter Miami played the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, and head coach Cristian 'Kily' González named him on the bench, a decision the club had agreed in advance after the transatlantic travel. Casemiro scored an own goal in the seventh minute. Messi came on in the 56th minute but could not change the result, and Emil Forsberg added a second goal in stoppage time to make it 2-0 to the Red Bulls.

The defeat ended a three-match winning run, but it changes little for Miami. The defending MLS Cup champions are already through to the playoffs and sit second in the Eastern Conference with 55 points. Messi leads the league with 25 goals this season. Miami host FC Cincinnati at Nu Stadium on Wednesday 28th October.

## Monday brings a 17th Ballon d'Or nomination in London

Before Wednesday, there is Monday. The 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony takes place on 26th October at the London Palladium, the first time the gala has been held in London. The organisers moved it there to honour Sir Stanley Matthews, who won the first Ballon d'Or 70 years ago. Messi is among the 30 men's nominees, his 17th nomination, and he holds the record of eight wins.

Whoever lifts the trophy on Monday, the 4,700 young people in the Palacio de los Deportes heard [a lesson about losing](https://richdadmagazine.com/article/5-rules-for-men-living-like-a-knight-how-to-earn-your-place-in-history-beyond-2025) from a man who lost a World Cup final in July and then flew to Spain to accept a prize from the country that beat him.