Haaland will take on Messi, Verstappen & Djokovic for prestigious Laureus award

Manchester City Treble winner Erling Haaland will take on Lionel Messi, Novak Djokovic and Max Verstappen for the prestigious Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in April.

England star Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, has the chance to claim the Breakthrough of the Year accolade in his home city of Madrid as the shortlists were revealed.

Pep Guardiola's City will surely be favourites to win the Laureus Team of the Year prize after an exceptional 2023.

Laureus unveiled the nominees for the 25th edition of their World Sports Awards on Monday morning after 1,300 journalists and broadcasters from around the globe cast their votes.

The winners will be announced at the ceremony in the Spanish capital on April 22 following deliberations by the Laureus World Sports Academy - made up of sporting legends past and present.

Norwegian striker Haaland scored 52 goals across all competitions in his debut season as City won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season.

In the category for world's best sportsman, he comes up against Argentine legend Messi, who won a record eighth Ballon d'Or and signed for MLS club Inter Miami.

Serbian tennis star Djokovic, a four-time winner of the award, won three Slams and reached a record-equalling 24 majors.

Also on the shortlist is Dutch Formula One star Verstappen, who dominated the season to complete a hat-trick of world championships.

The Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and American sprinter Noah Lyles - who won a triple gold at the World Athletics Championships - are also nominated.

In the World Sportswoman of the Year award, Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmati is shortlisted after winning the World Cup and the Ballon d'Or.

She is joined by sprinters Shericka Jackson of Jamaica and Sha'Carri Richardson of the United States, as well as Kenyan distance runner Faith Kipyegon. All three won at least one gold at the World Championships.

Completing the female shortlist are Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, who won her third French Open, and the American skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who became the all-time leader in World Cup wins.

The Team of the Year contest sees City up against Europe's Ryder Cup squad, the Red Bull F1 team, Spain's Women's World Cup winners, the South Africa rugby union world champions and Germany's men's basketball team.

Guardiola said: 'We are really proud for our club to have been nominated for the Laureus World Team of the Year award.

'Of course, we are nominated because we won so much last season and the credit must go to all our players, all our staff who worked so hard throughout the season to compete in England and across Europe.'

The Breakthrough Award looks set to be among the most fiercely contested.

Bellingham not only made himself integral to Gareth Southgate's England team ahead of Euro 2024 but secured a dream move to Real Madrid and won the Golden Boy Award.

He goes up against female stars Linda Caicedo of Colombia and Salma Paralluelo of Spain.

Also on that shortlist are American tennis player Coco Gauff, who won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open aged 19, the Chinese sinner Qin Haiyang and British athlete Josh Kerr, who claimed world 1,500m gold.

The World Comeback of the Year prize list includes US gymnast Simone Biles, who returned from a two-year absence to claim four World Championship golds.

Sebastien Haller, who recovered from a cancer diagnosis to play again for Borussia Dortmund, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the British heptathlete who overcame injury misery to win World Championship gold.