Lionel Messi Makes History Again in MLS, Wins MVP for Second Consecutive Year

On Sunday, Inter Miami defeated the local Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 at Chase Stadium to win the MLS Cup for the first time. Messi directly contributed to two of the team’s three goals in the final, both through perfect assists.

Although Inter Miami didn’t win the Supporters’ Shield in the regular season, Messi’s extraordinary performance in the playoffs led the team to the championship. Throughout the season, he scored 29 goals and made 19 assists in 28 matches, an improvement over his 2024 performance of 20 goals and 16 assists.

Messi maintained his brilliant form in the playoffs, scoring six goals and providing nine assists in six matches, once again leading the team. His two assists in the final changed the course of the match. He set a new league record by contributing at least three goals in nine consecutive matches and scored multiple goals in ten matches in a single season—a remarkable achievement.

Messi also became the first footballer in league history to record at least 36 goal contributions in two consecutive seasons (2024 and 2025).

Since 1996, the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award has been determined by votes from players, club technical staff, and the media. This year, Messi led across all three sources, with an overall average vote of 70.43%, while his closest competitor, Andres Dreyer of San Diego FC, received only 11.15%.

Messi received 83.05% of the media votes, 55.17% of the players’ votes, and 73.08% of the club votes.

With this, Messi became only the second player in MLS history to win MVP twice. Previously, the honor was won twice by Preki in 1997 and 2003, but Messi is the first to win it consecutively.