Manchester United team-mates Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez have reacted to their respective wins at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
Eriksen received the ‘Comeback Of The Year’ award after returning to top-level football, following the cardiac arrest that he suffered while representing Denmark at the European Championship.
When collecting his award from former Tottenham Hotspur star David Ginola, Eriksen reflected on his achievement and how his perspective on life has changed as a result.
Watch Eriksen's speech in Paris on Monday night.
“I think it's been an incredible last one-and-a-half-year now with a lot of ups and downs,”said Christian. “Obviously, the biggest downs came at that point and that changed my life for the worse.
“But luckily the doctors and the people, the paramedics and people around and my team-mates at the time, they reacted quickly and got me back. And at the same time, I was lucky that nothing serious happened. Like, an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) was the worst.
“For me, what I've learned from this is more that you forget the people around you. I also see [my partner] Sabrina gets emotional from being around when it happens.
“It must have been the same for people and family who were around when it happened, and it really is a focus for them because, I mean, I felt like myself when I came back and I've been myself since.
“I think I have more or less the same [routine]. I think I've started to enjoy my life and my kids, my family a bit more than what I did before, I am a bit more relaxed with everything.
“I am not as nervous as I was before, and I didn't feel like I was nervous before. But it just changes your dynamic. Life is very good. Life is very important. Life is very important.”
Martinez, meanwhile, was there alongside Lionel Messi to collect Argentina’s ‘Team Of The Year’ prize in recognition of their World Cup success in Qatar.
On Twitter, Licha wrote: “Beautiful night! An honour to receive this award for Best Team of the Year from the entire squad and coaching staff. A recognition of the work, humility, perseverance, unity and passion of this incredible group. Congratulations also to the best player in the world!”
Later, in a selfie message to supporters, Martinez said: “We are really happy to get this award, it means a lot to us.
“Like I said before, work hard, be a good person, be humble, always giving 100 per cent and for sure it will pay off. We are really happy, our country is really happy as well.”