Official: Messi named finalist for 2025 MLS Most Valuable Player Award

On October 28, the United States announced the final shortlist for the annual award for the 2025 season. Miami International captain Messi was shortlisted for the Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Award. He was selected into the final list together with Denis Buanga (Los Angeles FC), Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC), Evander (FC Cincinnati), and Sam Therage (Nashville SC).

This is Messi’s second finalist for the Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Award after winning the award in 2024. The Argentine star led Inter Miami to the best regular season record in team history, scoring a record-breaking number of wins, goals and points. Not only did he win the first Supporters' Shield in team history, he also set a new MLS single-season points record with 74 points. Messi leads the league with 36 offensive contributions (20 goals and 16 assists), ranking fifth in MLS single-season history. His average of 2.18 attacks per 90 minutes per game is the highest in league history.

The candidates for each award this year represent a total of 16 MLS clubs, and the winners will be announced one after another during the Audi 2025 MLS playoffs. The final candidates for the annual award are jointly voted by the MLS club technical team, MLS first-team players and specially invited media reporters, with the three parties each accounting for 33.3% of the weight.