MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The former basketball player Pau Gasol, the ‘Golden Ball’ Alexia Putellas, the president of Atlético de Madrid, Enrique Cerezo, and the Madrid City Council were awarded at the third edition of the ISDE Sports Convention in an event held this Friday where also The president of LaLiga Javier Tebas and the Deputy Minister of Sports of the Community of Madrid, Alberto Tomé, were present.
Pau Gasol, who received the award in the “Legend” category, could not be present at the gala as he was in the United States, but he did send a message to return the love received. The former basketball player retired last summer after winning two NBA championship rings, two gold medals in World Cups, two silver medals in the Olympic Games, one bronze and a large number of other titles.
“I want to thank ISDE for having thought of me for this award. I am very sorry that I cannot be with all of you today to discuss the future of this industry. Thank you for recognizing the importance of sport and the importance it has in transmitting values, thank you also for that this award also recognizes my work beyond the tracks”, declared Pau Gasol.
Enrique Cerezo was also honored, who received the award for ‘Sports Institutional Career’ after completing 1,000 games as president of Atlético de Madrid. “If I remember correctly, this year marks 35 years between vice president and president, an acknowledgment that I extend to my colleagues on the Board of Directors, workers and the red-and-white family”, thanked the president, who is left with having won “ten titles with the first men’s team and five with the women’s” and “the great honor of inaugurating the Wanda Metropolitano” in 2017.
Alexia Putellas, awarded in the national category, could not be present either because she will play the Champions League final this Saturday against Olympique de Lyon. The FC Barcelona footballer received both the ‘Golden Ball’ and ‘The Best’ in 2021, recognitions that she wanted to thank through a video in which she declared that “hopefully next year” she can “go to the ceremony “.
Lastly, the Madrid City Council received the award for Sports Innovation in the year in which the city is the World Capital of Sports, which was collected by the Delegate Councilor for the Sports Area, Sofía Miranda.
“Undoubtedly, we receive this award because at the City Council we know how to work as a team. Being the capital of sport and having more than 20 events of the highest national and international level in our city is not achieved if you do not have a work team. We decided to put in focus on women’s sport, on minority sport and also on major events as we have also done with the European badminton tournament, and on the link between sport and health. And because we put the focus on the right things, now the focus is over Madrid,” he concluded.