Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, both forwards for Inter Miami, have been named the frontrunners for the MLS Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, as reported by ESPN following the release of the full list of nominees, which includes 34 players.
Other candidates are Luciano Acosta from Cincinnati, Cucho Hernández from Columbus Crew, and Riqui Puig from LA Galaxy. The voting commenced on Monday and will continue until October 21.
This marks Messi’s second nomination for the award since joining the league on July 15, 2023. This season, he has scored 17 goals and provided 15 assists in just 18 matches. Suarez has also made a significant impact, scoring 18 goals and contributing 7 assists in his debut MLS season, where he has played 26 matches.
Inter Miami became the regular season champion. That trophy became the 46th in Messi’s career.