Messi and Liverpool among the big-name nominees at Laureus World Sports Awards

London, February 16: Lionel Messi and Liverpool are among the front-runners for prizes at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin on Monday (February 17).

Liverpool are up for two gongs after a wonderful year, as they won the 2018-19 Champions League and took a massive leap towards a first top-flight title in 30 years.

Jurgen Klopp's side look set to break a host of records this season, as they have dropped points in just one of their 25 matches and hold a remarkable 22-point lead over defending champions Manchester City in second.

The Reds are in the running for two prizes in the Laureus Sports Awards' 20th anniversary gala – World Team of the Year and Comeback of the Year, the latter on account of their astonishing Champions League semi-final turnaround at the expense of Barcelona.

Among those challenging Liverpool for the former are the United States' Women's football team and the Toronto Raptors, who became the first Canadian franchise win an NBA championship.

An unforgettable night in Monaco...

Our Laureus World Sports Awards #TBThursday continues with the best moments from #Laureus18 🙌#SportUnitesUs pic.twitter.com/eHd9aXLOR4

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) February 13, 2020

A selection of sporting superstars are up for the Sportsman of the Year award, with Barcelona and Argentina icon Lionel Messi among them following his record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or.

Also in the running is Eliud Kipchoge after the Kenyan became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours last October, covering the 26.2 miles in one hour, 59 minutes and 40.2 seconds in Vienna.

Ballon d'Or Feminin winner Megan Rapinoe is among those in the hunt for the Sportswoman of the Year gong, although gymnast Simone Biles also has a compelling case.

The 22-year-old last year won five gold medals at the World Championships to become the most decorated gymnast in the event's history, and has won this award twice before, in 2019 and 2017.

The event will take place at the Verti Music Hall in Berlin on Monday. Below is a complete list of the awards up for grabs and the athletes nominated.

Sportsman of the Year

Eliud Kipchoge – Athletics

Lewis Hamilton – Formula One

Lionel Messi – Football

Marc Marquez – MotoGP

Rafael Nadal – Tennis

Tiger Woods – Golf

The Only. One. Ever.

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner, Leo #Messi pic.twitter.com/5PMoJGRCrY

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 2, 2019

Sportswoman of the Year

Allyson Felix – Athletics

Megan Rapinoe – Football

Mikaela Shiffrin – Skiing

Naomi Osaka – Tennis

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – Athletics

Simone Biles – Gymnastics

Team of the Year

Liverpool – Football

Mercedes-AMG – Formula One

South Africa – Rugby Union

Spain – Basketball

Toronto Raptors – Basketball

United States Women – Football

B O S S 🏆#SixTimes pic.twitter.com/TjESYYwrTu

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 1, 2019

Breakthrough of the Year

Andy Ruiz – Boxing

Bianca Andreescu – Tennis

Coco Gauff – Tennis

Egan Bernal – Cycling

Japan – Rugby Union

Regan Smith – Swimming

Comeback of the Year

Andy Murray – Tennis

Christian Lealiifano – Rugby Union

Kawhi Leonard – Basketball

Liverpool – Football

Nathan Adrian – Swimming

Sophia Florsch – Formula Three

pic.twitter.com/i4V3dsYs0f

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) October 20, 2019

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

Alice Tai – Swimming

Diede de Groot – Wheelchair Tennis

Jetze Plat – Triathlon

Manuela Schar – Wheelchair Racing

Oksana Masters – Cross Country Skiing

Omara Durand – Athletics

Action Sportsperson of the year

Carissa Moore – Surfing

Chloe Kim – Snowboarding

Italo Ferreira – Surfing

Mark McMorris – Snowboarding

Nyjah Huston – Skateboarding

Rayssa Leal – Skateboarding

1st go for the winpic.twitter.com/n3z35gf9gD

— Nyjah Huston (@nyjah) January 30, 2020