Top 25 sporting moments of 2022: Lionel Messi, Pele, Roger Federer

Many of those in the conversation for the greatest of all time in their respective sports - some in any sports - either achieved crowning glories, brought an end to their legendary careers over the course of the last 12 months or, in the sad case of Pele, passed away.

From Lionel Messi finally being crowned world champion with Argentina at the FIFA World Cup to Serena Williams and Roger Federer both hanging up their racquets, from Ronnie O'Sullivan winning his seventh word title to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce winning her fifth in the 100m alone, it was a year when the greats stole the show.

The next generation of talent also began to burst through as well, though, and while we have allowed for 25 historic sporting moments in this countdown, there were many more which could have easily been included too.

For example, there is no place for Peter Wright's second PDC World Darts Championship title, Max Verstappen's second world F1 title, for continental crowns won by Eintracht Frankfurt and Roma, or for Novak Djokovic's triumphs at Wimbledon or the ATP Finals.

Flamengo's Copa Libertadores triumph does not make the cut, nor does the enforced sale of Chelsea after Russia's invasion of Ukraine or the Commonwealth Games in the summer.

In cricket, England produced some of their finest-ever Test victories, namely over New Zealand and especially Pakistan, yet both are perhaps harshly ranked outside the top 25 sporting moments of the year for us. The sport also tragically lost an icon long before his time in the great Shane Warne.

In rugby union, Argentina stunned New Zealand and La Rochelle won the Champions Cup for the first time, while the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl triumph on home turf also misses out.

Tiger Woods returned at a Masters won by Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas tied the biggest ever comeback in US PGA Championship history and Cameron Smith won The 150th Open Championship, while 2022 also saw the Winter Olympics, including a controversial decision to allow 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva to compete despite a failed drugs test.

The fact that none of those achievements or moments made the final list gives some idea of how action-packed the year was in sport, and here Sports Mole has tried to cut the 365 days down to the very biggest and best 25 moments.

25. English club rugby future plunged into uncertainty (September & October)

The 2022-23 English club rugby season will forever have a black cloud over it, with two Gallagher Premiership clubs entering administration.

Hundreds of staff and players lost their jobs, while tens of thousands of fans effectively lost their clubs as both Worcester Warriors and Wasps surrendered to mounting debts and unpaid bills.

Worcester were the first to go in September as they missed a deadline to provide a credible plan for the future of the club, following a string of missed payments to players and staff.

While the loss of Worcester was one of the darkest moments in English club rugby history, worse was to come less than a month later when Wasps - one of England's most successful clubs - suffered the same fate.

Champions of England as recently as 2008 and of Europe as recently as 2007, Wasps - like Worcester - were suspended from competing for the rest of the season and relegated from the top flight, leaving their long-term future in serious jeopardy and shining a light on the fragile nature of club rugby in England.

24. Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua to retain world titles (August 20)

Just months after fighting for his country during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Oleksandr Usyk stepped back in the ring for a rematch of his heavyweight world title bout with Anthony Joshua.

The former cruiserweight king had outboxed and outclassed Joshua en route to his surprise win in the initial fight less than a year earlier, and as such entered their second bout as favourite to win once again.

With the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles on the line, Usyk once again proved himself to be a class above Joshua in terms of boxing technique, despite a much-improved performance from the Briton.

The Ukrainian won by split decision following a thrilling contest, although many onlookers felt that he again deserved to be unanimously hailed as the winner.

After losing his second successive fight, Joshua threw the world title belts out of the ring and stormed off, before returning, grabbing the microphone and giving an emotional speech in front of a baffled crowd.

Joshua was left to contemplate his next move after slipping down the pecking order at the top table of heavyweight boxing, while Usyk turned his attention to a unification bout with Tyson Fury.

23. Ashleigh Barty wins Australian Open (January 29)

The 2022 Australian Open began in less-than ideal circumstances, with the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic's controversial and very public late expulsion from the tournament threatening to overshadow the tennis itself.

However, home favourite Ashleigh Barty helped to quickly consign that saga to the past with her dominant run to the women's singles title in Melbourne.

The world number one did not drop a single set en route to the trophy, and her victory over first-time Grand Slam finalist Danielle Collins saw her become the first homegrown player - male or female - to win the Australian Open since 1978.

Barty's success saw her claim a third different Grand Slam crown of her career too, leaving just the US Open to go for a clean sweep.

22. Rafael Nadal wins 22nd Grand Slam, 14th French Open (June 5)

Rafael Nadal's dominance at the French Open is such that success on its clay courts is almost taken for granted now, but that should not take anything away from yet another remarkable achievement for the Spaniard at this year's tournament.

Having already won the Australian Open, Nadal's triumph at Roland Garros marked the first time in his illustrious career that he has ever won the opening two majors of a calendar year.

Nadal beat four top-10 players en route to the title - only the third man to do so at any Grand Slam since the rankings were introduced in 1973 - including beating defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Considering Nadal had thought about retiring less than a year earlier due to persistent injury problems, his 2022 revival was all the more remarkable, and his straight-sets 6-3 6-3 6-0 win over Casper Ruud in the final underlined that the old guard are not ready to step aside for the next generation just yet.

The title was Nadal's 14th at the French Open and his 22nd Grand Slam crown overall, extending two of the records he already held and edging further clear of both Roger Federer and Djokovic in the all-time title stakes.

21. Senegal win first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title (February 6)

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations provided all of the usual thrills and spills, and all of the colourful and comical moments that we have come to expect from the tournament over the years.

In the end it all came down to a showdown between Senegal and Egypt; arguably the continent's biggest nation never to have won the tournament against the nation that had won it more than any other.

Another appealing sub-plot saw Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah - the talismans of their respective sides - go head to head for the first time ever.

Ultimately, it would be Mane who had the last laugh, although the match got off to a nightmare start for him as he saw a penalty saved in the opening stages.

The chance to redeem himself from the spot would come, though, as the 120 minutes ended goalless, continuing the trend of Egypt being taken to extra time in all of their knockout games in Cameroon.

Star man Salah took the risky decision to take his side's fifth penalty - something Mane also chose to do for Senegal - but the shootout never made it the distance as Mane atoned for his earlier miss to wrap up a historic victory for his country before Salah had a chance to take one.

The triumph was greeted with delirious scenes of celebration in Senegal as they lifted the trophy for the very first time, having previously lost in the 2002 and 2019 finals.

20. Ireland record first-ever away series victory over New Zealand (July 16)

Whereas English rugby suffered a year to forget on the whole, Irish rugby went from strength to strength, rising to the top of the world rankings and establishing themselves as one of the favourites to win next year's World Cup.

Even a maiden World Cup success would struggle to top the achievement of winning a series against New Zealand in New Zealand for the first time ever, though.

After losing the opener of the three-match series, Ireland bounced back with a 23-12 triumph to make it 1-1 and send it to a decider.

The All Blacks were still firm favourites to win considering their previous defeat had seen them have a man sent off and two players sin-binned, with Ireland taking full advantage of their numerical superiority.

However, Andy Farrell's men produced one of their best-ever performances to beat a full-strength New Zealand side 32-22, continuing their recent hoodoo over the All Blacks to pull off arguably the greatest achievement in their history.

Incidentally, England made it a Northern Hemisphere double-header as they secured only their second-ever series win in Australia on the same day, although that proved to be a rare bright point for England whereas Ireland's success was in keeping with the rest of their year.

19. Sport pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II (September 8)

The world, and in particular the UK, was in mourning in September after the death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II was announced by Buckingham Palace.

All Premier League, EFL and women's matches were postponed on the weekend of the news, as were games in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Day two of the Test between England and South Africa was called off, although they resumed a day later after deciding to pay a rousing tribute to the late Queen.