Messi attracts the gazes and Patti Smith thrills at the Princess of Asturias awards

BarcelonaLeo Messi seemed for once offside the day he received the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports in Oviedo at a ceremony presided over by the King and Queen of Spain. The current Inter Miami player, a man who has always felt more comfortable on the pitch than when he has to wear a tie, was the center of attention at a gala where he was surrounded by artists, intellectuals, and scientists who raised their voices in favor of tolerance with their speeches. Messi seemed shy and insecure, but as the American singer and writer Patti Smith, also an award winner, said, if the Argentine was there it was because they bring "joy to the people". And in this respect, Messi has done it more than almost anyone else.

Smith, who gave a small concert on Thursday in the Asturian city, asked to speak on behalf of all the award winners, and stated that "they are role models who promote joy, protect the environment, explore with audacity, defend human rights, encourage intellectual curiosity, and constitute a source of pride. I feel very fortunate to be among them". Smith added that she wants to find "new ways to help people in the best possible way and give hope and stability to new generations", and closed her speech with an emotional performance of Wing , the song she composed for her daughter after the death of her father, Fred Smith Smith.

The day had begun with the traditional morning audiences at the Hotel de la Reconquista in Oviedo, in which Princess Leonor received, for the first time on her own, the award recipients of this edition. Afterwards, the entourage went to the theater, where a bagpipe band welcomed them. The award recipients were, in addition to Lionel Messi and Patti Smith, the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli (Communication and Humanities award); the British chemists David Klenerman and Shankar Balasubramanian and the French biophysicist Pascal Mayer (Scientific and Technical Research award), the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (International Cooperation award), the British historian, journalist and essayist Timothy Garton Ash (Social Sciences award), the British writer Julian Barnes (Letters award) and the American astronaut Christina Koch (Concord award).

A defense of Europe

In his speech, Timothy Garton Ash addressed Princess Leonor, reminding her that she was born at a time of "unprecedented expansion of freedom, peace and European integration," but that the European project is now in danger due to the accumulation of internal and external threats. To face this challenge, to "defend, reform and expand a free Europe," Garton Ash has called for a "deep commitment to the search for truth" in the face of the "vast symphony of deception" promoted by social networks, artificial intelligence, hostile powers "and some people in positions of power."

Speaking before Leo Messi, the historian metaphorically resorted to the famous tikitaka, which has made Spanish football famous, to appeal to the need to combine individual talent with precise teamwork, a style of play in which "everyone acts as one when they deploy this wonderful style of play." "If only the nations, states and regions of Europe were capable of doing the same, combining, as Europe has always done in its best moments, diversity and unity: we would be unbeatable".

The American astronaut Christina Koch, one of the crew members of NASA's Artemis II mission who made history in April by orbiting the Moon, also gave a quite emotional speech. "All human beings need to feel love," she said, stating that all the inhabitants of the Earth "are her crewmates."

The awards gala also served to hear King Felipe VI appealing to take care of the forms and institutions of democracy in a "daily, civic, and demanding" commitment to continue guaranteeing coexistence and the pursuit of the common good, an exercise that, he said, is not exhausted by elections like the ones that will be held this coming November 29th. "It is necessary to defend the rights founded on a Constitution capable of welcoming all Spaniards without any distinction. Democracy is a path that moves forward, it renews itself year after year; it forces us all to be humble, to remain alert, to also renew—as citizens—our constant will to learn and improve," he highlighted.

Messi, emotional

Outside the theater, however, the great protagonist was a Messi who appeared cheerful while greeting the authorities, but without saying much. In an interview with the Efe agency, Messi had recalled on Thursday his years in the Barça shirt: "We were lucky enough to win everything, also in the way we did it, in how we enjoyed playing, winning, achieving important things, but above all in how we enjoyed the day-to-day, the training sessions... We had a great time". "It is hard to find words to explain everything that Barcelona means. Many good things happened there. I have a very, very special affection for the city, for the club", said Messi, who has just retired from the national team but continues to play for Inter. After winning everything at the club level with Barça, Messi highlighted that winning the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar in 2022 was "culminating" his career with something that "was more than a dream".

When asked how he would like to be remembered, the Argentine star said "as a great athlete" who always fought for his goals and his dreams: "[...]I never stopped trying to win everything that was in front of me". Finally, he said that it will be a privilege to be part of the group of winners of the Princess of Asturias Awards for sports alongside names such as Serena Williams, Carolina Marín, Rafael Nadal, Eliud Kipchoge, Lindsey Vonn, the Gasol brothers and Michael Schumacher.