Best International Athlete ESPY Award
Awarded forBest International Athlete
LocationLos Angeles (2017)[1]
Presented byESPN
First awarded2006
Currently held byFrance Kylian Mbappé
(1st award)
Most awardsPortugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(4 awards)
Websitewww.espn.co.uk/espys/

The Best International Athlete ESPY Award is an award given to the sportsperson adjudged to have been the best or most outstanding of those born outside, or not possessing citizenship, of the United States who contest a major international sport in a given calendar year. From 2008 to 2009, the award was split into Best Female International Athlete ESPY Award and Best Male International Athlete ESPY Award.[2] The women's version of the award for 2008 and 2009 were presented to Mexican professional golfer Lorena Ochoa.[3][4] The award was discontinued after 2009, but was reinstated in 2012.

In 2018, the award was restricted to soccer and renamed Best International Men's Soccer Player, and a women's version of the award, also specific to soccer, was introduced at that time. Eligibility was still based on citizenship, regardless of the player's club affiliation. The 2018 and 2019 awards for the women's version were given to Australian soccer player Sam Kerr.[5][6] The award's name was changed again in 2021 to Best International Athlete, Men's Soccer, with the women's award undergoing an identical name change. The eligibility criteria also changed; both awards are now presented to soccer players who play at club level outside the United States, without regard to citizenship. The 2021 women's version of this award, and the first under the current eligibility criteria, was presented to Sam Mewis, an American who played her club soccer at Manchester City.[7]

Balloting for the award was conducted over the Internet by fans from amongst choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. The ESPY Awards ceremony has been conducted in June or July since the 2002 ceremony; all awards conferred in that period reflect performance and achievement over the twelve months previous to presentation, which may span one or two seasons depending upon the recipient's particular sport. The award wasn't awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

List of winners

Best International Athlete ESPY Award winners
Year Image Sportsperson Nation of birth Team Competition,
federation,
or league		 Sport Ref
2006 Albert Pujols in 2008 Albert Pujols  Dominican Republic St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball Baseball [8]
2007 Roger Federer in 2007 Roger Federer   Switzerland — ATP Tour Tennis [9]
2008 Rafael Nadal in 2008 Rafael Nadal  Spain — ATP Tour Tennis [3]
2009 Usain Bolt in 2009 Usain Bolt  Jamaica — — Athletics [4]
2012 Lionel Messi in 2012 Lionel Messi  Argentina FC Barcelona
Argentina		 La Liga
FIFA/UEFA/AFA		 Football [10]
2013 Usain Bolt in 2013 Usain Bolt (2)  Jamaica — — Athletics [11]
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013 Cristiano Ronaldo  Portugal Real Madrid
Portugal		 La Liga
FIFA/UEFA/FPF		 Football [12]
2015 Lionel Messi in 2015 Lionel Messi (2)  Argentina FC Barcelona
Argentina		 La Liga
FIFA/UEFA/AFA		 Football [13]
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo (2)  Portugal Real Madrid
Portugal		 La Liga
FIFA/UEFA/FPF		 Football [14]
2017 Usain Bolt in 2017 Usain Bolt (3)  Jamaica — — Athletics [1]
2018 Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo (3)  Portugal Real Madrid
Portugal		 La Liga
FIFA/UEFA/FPF		 Football [5]
2019 Lionel Messi in 2015 Lionel Messi (3)  Argentina FC Barcelona
Argentina		 La Liga
FIFA/UEFA/AFA		 Football [6]
2020 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo (4)  Portugal Juventus
Portugal		 Serie A
FIFA/UEFA/FPF		 Football [7]
2022 Kylian Mbappé in 2017 Kylian Mbappé  France Paris Saint-Germain
France		 Ligue 1
FIFA/UEFA/FFF		 Football [15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Full list of 2017 ESPYS winners". ESPN. 13 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "All-Time ESPY Winners". ESPN MediaZone. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 "ESPY Award winners". ESPN. 17 July 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Phelps a big winner at ESPY Awards". ABC News. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Full list of 2018 ESPYS winners". ESPN.com. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Messi named Best International Men's Player at ESPY Awards". MARCA in English. 2019-07-12. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
  7. 1 2 "All the winners from the 2021 ESPY Awards". USA Today. 11 July 2021.
  8. ↑ "Armstrong, Sorenstam ESPY's Top Athletes". The Washington Post. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Athletes Honored With ESPYs". CBS News. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Leo Messi wins ESPY Award". FC Barcelona. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  11. ↑ Keeney, Tim (18 July 2013). "ESPY Awards 2013 Winners: Results, Recap and Top Moments". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  12. ↑ Zucker, Joseph (17 July 2014). "ESPY 2014 Winners: Awards Results, Recap, Top Moments and Twitter Reaction". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Ko misses out to Messi at ESPYs". New Zealand Herald. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "2016 ESPY Awards Winners". San Diego Tribune. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "2022 ESPYS: Full list of award winners". ESPN. 21 July 2022.
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