Lionel Messi added another feather to his cap as the Inter Miami star became the first player in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS) to win two consecutive Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. The announcement was made by MLS league commissioner Don Garber on Tuesday after Messi scored 29 goals in 28 matches with 19 assists in the 2025 season.
In the process, Messi joined Kansas City Wizards legend Preki (1997 and 2003), as the only two players to have win the MLS MVP twice. The Argentina forward fell one goal short of Carlos Vela’s record in a single season. In fact, Messi was the second-oldest to win the MLS MVP at 38. Preki also holds the record for being the oldest to win at 40 in 2003.
In total, Messi got 70.43% votes as compared to San Diego FC's Anders Dreyer, who got 11.15% votes. The former Barcelona star took 83.05% of media votes, 73.08% of club votes and 55.17% of player votes. Last year, Messi won the MLS MVP award with 20 goals and 16 assists.
This was Messi latest award in a trophy haul after the Argentina World Cup-winner won a record eight Ballon d'Or titles, three FIFA Men's Best Player awards and two FIFA World Cup Golden Balls.
Messi turns messi-ah for Inter Miami
Since joining Inter Miami in 2023, Messi helped the club win the Leagues Cup (which is a tournament for Mexican and MLS league clubs) that year. The following year, Messi guided Inter Miami to win the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield with a league-best 74 points in the regular season.
Earlier this year, Messi became the first MLS player with 10 multi-goal games in a season. He broke the record of eight which was shared by Stern John (1998), Mamadou Diallo (2000) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2019).
What's next for Lionel Messi?
Following this, Messi will be gearing up for his India tour next week. The Argentine superstar will be in India for a three-day tour, during which he will cover four cities, starting off from Kolkata on December 13. The same day, Messi will fly out to Hyderabad. The next two days for Messi is reserved for Mumbai (December 14) and Delhi (December 15).
This will be Messi second visit to India after 15 years. The last time Messi came to India was in 2010, when he along with Argentina team played an international friendly against Venezuela at the iconic Salt Lake stadium. Although Messi didn't score in that game, he made his captaincy debut in that game for the national team.
