Lionel Messi was named the winner of the Landon Donovan MVP Award for the 2024 MLS season on Friday, beating out Cucho Hernández of the Columbus Crew, Evander of the Portland Timbers, Christian Benteke of DC 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 games.

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 to score at least 20 goals in a single season and scored 15 assists.

The MVP award is determined through a survey involving players, club technical staff and selected media representatives. Messi received an average of 38.43% of the vote compared to runner-up Benteke (33.70%).

This was his first full season for the club, having joined in July 2023.

MLS commissioner Don Garber made the announcement in a video on Friday alongside students from the Inter Miami Academy and Messi’s three sons.

“It is truly an honor for me to receive this award from all of you,” Messi told the academy players. “It makes me proud to watch 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 joy to see how you grow day by day.” day. I invite you to continue fighting and striving for your dreams.

The Miami captain won the award despite only playing in 55% of competitive games during the 34-game regular season. He missed 62 days between June 1 and September 14 due to an ankle injury sustained 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 contribution and impact on the field with at least 1,000 minutes played in the regular season, which is the league requirement for an MVP nomination.

According to FotMob, Messi averaged more than one goal every 90 minutes, leading the league. According to MLS, Messi averaged 2.18 goal involvements per game in 1,485 minutes, which is a league record.

The MLS MVP trophy is another entry on Messi’s absurdly long list of professional accolades. He is an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, eight-time FIFA Player of the Year winner, seven-time LaLiga MVP, former UEFA Player of the Year, former Champions League Player of the Season, World Cup Golden Ball winner, Club winner of the World Cup Golden Ball, and the list goes on.

“Unless you live in the world of global football, it is hard to imagine the universal appeal and enormous popularity and fame that Leo Messi enjoys,” Garber said. “I mean, he’s Michael Jackson meets Taylor Swift – and he’s in our league.”

His numbers and influence on the pitch helped Inter Miami win the Supporters’ Shield and set the single-season points record with 74 points that season. Despite its strong regular season – and thus as the No. 1 seed for the postseason – Inter Miami lost to Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs, ending the 2024 season in disappointment.

In November, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who took over as coach in June 2023, resigned for personal reasons. Miami named Javier Mascherano – a former Barcelona and Argentina teammate and friend of Messi – as Martino’s successor.

The MLS Cup final takes place on Saturday in Carson, California, where the LA Galaxy host the New York Red Bulls. The Galaxy are hoping for a record sixth cup win, while the Red Bulls are aiming to win their first trophy.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.