Lionel Messi Makes History as MVP Winner After Inter Miami MLS Cup Win

December 9, 2025 Admin

Lionel Messi has made history once again after being crowned the MLS Most Valuable Player for a second consecutive season after Inter Miami’s MLS Cup victory.

The Argentina international was the star man for the MLS champions in the 2025 season as he registered 29 goals and 20 assists in 28 appearances in the competition, including two assists in the 3-1 final victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps, earning Sir David Beckham’s side their first-ever league championship.

Now the legendary forward has made MLS history by becoming the first player ever to win the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award in two consecutive seasons.

Lionel Messi Breaks MLS Records

Messi won the award in 2024 too, despite Inter Miami crashing out of the playoffs in the first-round. But this year, Messi put the team on his back and registered a stunning six goals and seven assists in six playoff games to win the title.

The MLS have now awarded the 38-year-old with the award for the Most Valuable Player in the League, named after USMNT legend Landon Donovan, to put a stamp on a historic campaign.

Messi also became the only player in league history to record at least 36 goal contributions in a season multiple times (2024, 2025) and is the second player in MLS history to lead the league in both goals scored and assists, alongside Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco in 2015.

The World Cup winner’s 29 goals was the fourth-most in MLS history, despite featuring in just 28 games, while he also became the first player in league history to record 10 games where he scored multiple goals in a single season, breaking a record previously held by Stern John, Mamadou Diallo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who did it eight times each.

Messi Warmed Up for World Cup 2026

After winning the World Cup for the first time in Qatar in 2022, Messi is looking to defend that crown in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.

He has penned a new contract with Inter Miami which will see him stay at the club until the end of the 2028 MLS season, and this campaign has surely warmed him up well for the upcoming international tournament.

Argentina will take on Algeria, Austria and Jordan in the group stages of the tournament, giving Messi a great chance of getting to the knockout stages, and potentially retaining their crown. It’s expected to be Messi’s final World Cup, but if he can make it to the tournament in a similar vein of form to what we have just seen, then he may well be in a position to make more history.