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Luis Miguel Echegaray, ESPN
Lionel Messi was named as the winner of the Landon Donovan MVP Award on Friday for the 2024 MLS season, beating out Columbus Crew’s Cucho Hernández, Portland Timbers’ Evander, Christian Benteke from D.C. United and his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez.
The 37-year-old Messi won thanks to his 20 goals and 16 appearances in just 19 matches.
He joins Carlos Vela in 2019 (LAFC, 34 goals, 15 assists) and Sebastian 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 by a poll that includes players, club technical staff and selected members of the media. Messi received 38.43% of the votes averaged compared to second-place finisher Benteke (33.70%).
This was his first full season with the club, having joined in July 2023.
MLS commissioner Don Garber made the announcement on Friday alongside Inter Miami Academy students and Messi’s three sons in a video with the club.
“Truly, it is an honor for me to receive this award from all of you,” Messi said to the Academy players. “It’s a source of pride to watch you all train. I’m very happy to be here every day. I’m very happy to be in this city, in this Club that is growing…It’s a pleasure to see you grow day by day. I invite you to keep fighting and striving for your dreams.”
The Miami captain won the award despite only playing in 55% of competitive matches of the 34-game regular season. He missed 62 days between June 1 and Sept. 14 due to an ankle injury suffered during Argentina’s win over Colombia in the Copa América final.
During this time, the Herons played well, winning eight out of nine games without him.
The award considers a player’s contributions and impact on the pitch at a minimum of 1000 minutes played in the regular season, which is the league requirement for an MVP nomination.
Per FotMob, Messi averaged more than one goal every 90 minutes, which led the league. In 1,485 minutes, Messi averaged 2.18 goal contributions per match, which is a record in league history, according to MLS.
His numbers and impact on the pitch helped Inter Miami win the Supporters’ Shield and break the single-season points record this season with 74 points. Despite its strong regular season — earning the No. 1 seed for the postseason — Inter Miami lost to Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs, ending their 2024 campaign in a disappointing way.
In November, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who had taken the coaching role in June of 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 is on Saturday in Carson, California, where the LA Galaxy host the New York Red Bulls. The Galaxy look to win a record sixth Cup, while the Red Bulls seek their first.