Lionel Messi announced among 2026 ESPY nominees

Lionel Messi has been nominated for an Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly award (ESPY).

The Argentinian footballer joins New York Knicks hero Jalen Brunson in leading a crowded lineup of sports stars for this year's awards show.

Messi and Brunson are nominated in the Best Athlete: Men's Sports category, alongside baseball player Shohei Ohtani and American footballer Matthew Stafford.

Messi is currently playing for Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami CF and is the captain of the Argentina national team.

The Best Athlete: Women's Sports category includes ice hockey player Hilary Knight, golfer Nelly Korda, skier Mikaela Shiffrin and basketballer A'ja Wilson.

This year's ESPYs will return to New York after more than 25 years in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with Saturday Night Live star Marcello Hernandez set to host.

The awards show will air live from the Lincoln Centre on Wednesday 15 July at 8 pm local time. Voting is underway and will run through until the day the awards are handed out.

Often described as the sports world's equivalent of the Oscars or Grammys, The ESPYS are a premier annual awards show produced by ESPN that recognise individual and team athletic achievements, both professional and collegiate.

At last year's ceremony, gymnast Simone Biles claimed Best Athlete: Women's Sports (along with Best Championship Performance), while Canadian basketballer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named Best Athlete: Men's Sports.