Miami (AFP) – Lionel Messi won his second consecutive Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player award on Tuesday after propelling Inter Miami to the MLS title and leading the league in goals. Messi became the first player to win back-to-back MLS MVP awards and only the second player in the league to capture two MVP awards after Preki in 1997 and 2003.
“I’m happy to receive this award and be the first in the history of this league to win it in two consecutive years,” Messi said. “I’m very thankful.”
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The 38-year-old forward, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup crown, scored 29 goals in the regular season — the fourth-most in any MLS campaign — and set up 19 others to claim the MLS Golden Boot. “I’m thankful for this recognition,” Messi said. “It’s always nice to receive individual awards but I want to share it with my teammates. I was also fortunate to win the MLS Golden Boot thanks to the help of my teammates.”
Messi, who signed a three-year contract extension with Miami in October, also became only the second player to lead the league in regular-season goals and assists, joining Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco in 2015. Messi also netted six goals and created nine others in this year’s MLS playoffs, which concluded last weekend with Inter Miami beating Vancouver 3-1 for its first MLS Cup title, Messi delivering two key assists in the triumph to claim MLS Cup MVP honors.
It’s the latest award in a trophy haul for the South American maestro that includes a record eight Ballon d’Or titles, three FIFA Men’s Best Player awards, and two FIFA World Cup Golden Balls. Messi was a runaway season MVP award winner with 70.43 percent of total voting compared to 11.15 percent for runner-up Anders Dreyer of San Diego FC. Messi took 83.05 percent of media votes, 73.08 percent of club votes, and 55.17 percent of player votes.
He became the first MLS player with 10 multi-goal games in a season, breaking the old mark of eight shared by Stern John in 1998, Mamadou Diallo in 2000, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2019. In 2024, Messi won the MLS MVP award with 20 goals and 16 assists over 19 matches. Messi joined Inter Miami in July 2023 and helped the Herons hoist the Leagues Cup, a tournament for MLS and Mexican League clubs, that year and take the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield with a league-best 74 points in the regular season.
© 2024 AFP
