Lionel Messi was named the winner of the Landon Donovan MVP award for the 2024 MLS season on Friday, beating Cucho Hernández of the Columbus Crew, Evander of the Portland Timbers, Christian Benteke of DC United and his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez.
Messi, 37, won thanks to his 20 goals and 16 appearances in just 19 games.
He joins Carlos Vela in 2019 (LAFC, 34 goals, 15 assists) and Sebastián Giovinco in 2015 (Toronto FC, 22 goals, 16 assists) as the only players in league history with at least 20 goals and 15 assists in a single season.
The MVP award is determined through a survey that includes players, club coaching staff and selected members of the media. Messi received 38.43% of the votes on average, compared to the second placed, Benteke (33.70%).
This was his first full season at the club, having joined in July 2023.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber made the announcement Friday along with Inter Miami Academy students and Messi's three children in a video.
“The truth is that it is an honor for me to receive this award from all of you,” Messi told the Academy players. “It is an honor to see you all train. I am very happy to be here every day. I am very happy to be in this city, in this Club that is growing. It is a pleasure to see you grow day by day.” Day. I invite you to continue fighting and striving for your dreams.”
The Miami captain won the award despite playing only 55% of the competitive games in the 34-game regular season. He missed 62 days between June 1 and September 14 with an ankle injury suffered during Argentina's victory over Colombia in the Copa América final.
During this time, the Herons played well, winning eight of nine games without him.
The award considers a player's contributions and impact on the court with a minimum of 1,000 minutes played in the regular season, which is the league's requirement for an MVP nomination.
According to FotMob, Messi averaged more than a goal every 90 minutes, which led the league. In 1,485 minutes, Messi averaged 2.18 goals per game, which is a league record, according to MLS.
The MLS MVP trophy is yet another entry in Messi's absurdly long list of professional honors. He is an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, eight-time FIFA Player of the Year, seven-time LaLiga MVP, former UEFA Player of the Year, former Champions League Player of the Season, winner of the UEFA Ballon d'Or. World Cup, World Cup Ballon d'Or Winning Club, and the list goes on from there.
“Unless you live in the world of global soccer, it's hard to imagine the mainstream appeal and enormous popularity and stardom that Leo Messi has,” Garber said. “I mean, he's Michael Jackson meets Taylor Swift, and he's playing in our league.”
His numbers and impact on the field helped Inter Miami win the Supporters' Shield and set the single-season points record this season with 74 points. Despite their solid regular season (earning the first playoff berth), Inter Miami lost to Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs, ending their 2024 campaign in disappointing fashion.
In November, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who had taken over as coach in June 2023, resigned for personal reasons. Miami named Javier Mascherano, a former Barcelona and Argentina teammate and friend of Messi, to replace Martino.
The MLS Cup final will be on Saturday in Carson, California, where the LA Galaxy will host the New York Red Bulls. The Galaxy are looking to win a record sixth Cup, while the Red Bulls are looking for their first.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
