France’s L’Equipe summarized the year’s results in the “Best Athlete” category, with Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen finishing in fifth place.
Traditionally, the journalists of the publication choose the top five athletes who receive points according to the system 6 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1.
L’Equipe’s Athlete of the Year was world champion footballer Lionel Messi, who scored 808 points, twice as much as second placed Kylian Mbappé (381 points).
Top 10 athletes of the year by L’Equipe
| Athlete | Sport | Nation | Points |
| 1.Lionel Messi | american football | Argentina | 808 |
| 2. Kylian Mbappe | american football | France | 381 |
| 3. Rafael Nadal | tennis | Spain | 285 |
| 4. Remco Evenepul | cycling | Belgium | 252 |
| 5.Max Verstappen | formula 1 | The Netherlands | 196 |
| 6. Karim Benzema | american football | France | 195 |
| 7. Armand Duplantis | Athletics | Sweden | 185 |
| 8 Stephen Curry | basketball | United States | 139 |
| 9. Antoine Dupont | rugby | France | 105 |
| 10.David Popovich | swimming | Romania | 98 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
