Lionel Messi Claims Second Successive MLS MVP Honour for Inter Miami

Lionel Messi secured his second successive Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player honour on Tuesday, following his role in guiding Inter Miami to the MLS championship and topping the league's goal scorers.

Messi is the first individual to achieve consecutive MLS MVP honours and only the second to earn two such accolades in the competition's history, after Preki in 1997 and 2003.

The 38 year old forward, who captained Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup, netted 29 goals during the regular season, the fourth highest tally in any MLS campaign, and provided 19 assists to win the MLS Golden Boot.

Messi, who agreed to a three year contract extension with Miami in October, also joined an elite group as only the second player to lead the league in both regular season goals and assists, matching Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco from 2015.

In this year's MLS playoffs, Messi scored six goals and assisted nine more, which ended last weekend with Inter Miami defeating Vancouver 3-1 to secure their inaugural MLS Cup, where Messi contributed two vital assists in the victory to earn MLS Cup MVP recognition.

This latest honour adds to an impressive collection for the South American star, featuring a record eight Ballon d'Or awards, three FIFA Men's Best Player honours, and two FIFA World Cup Golden Ball distinctions.

Messi dominated the season MVP voting with 70.43% of the overall votes, far ahead of runner up Anders Dreyer from San Diego FC on 11.15%. He captured 83.05% of media votes, 73.08% of club votes, and 55.17% of player votes.

He set a new benchmark as the first MLS player to record 10 multi goal games in a single season, surpassing the previous record of eight held by Stern John in 1998, Mamadou Diallo in 2000, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2019.

During 2024, Messi earned the MLS MVP with 20 goals and 16 assists across 19 matches.

Messi arrived at Inter Miami in July 2023 and assisted the team in winning the Leagues Cup, a competition involving MLS and Mexican League sides, that year, while also clinching the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield with a league leading 74 points in the regular season.