Can Lionel Messi Win the MLS MVP Award This Season?

Lionel Messi has been shining bright in his games with Miami FC in the 2024 season, and it cannot be denied that he has been one of the best players in the game with the way he has led the club towards the top of the league with plenty of promising performances in the season.

In 10 matches with Inter Miami, we have seen Lionel Messi drill 10 goals, along with nine massive assists that have kept him at the top of the MVP race amongst many other experts’ lists. At this point, it is hard to argue that Lionel Messi himself is the only reason that the squad will be able to come up with more promising strides now more than ever.

But can Messi bag the award by the end of the season? Let’s discuss the details of his chances of winning.

Messi and the MVP Race

Looking at the data from the recent games that Messi played in, it cannot be denied that Inter Miami has seen massive victories and strides whenever he is on the pitch. No one can even argue that he is better than anyone else in the league whenever he gets a hold of the ball and starts making it work for the rest of the squad.

So will Messi be able to contend for the MVP award? He has to. Considering that his one-goal average per game continues to be the trend, perhaps the committee in charge of making work of the awards by the end of the season can bend the rules a little, and give Messi the award that he deserves.

Messi has to Contend with Benteke and Arango

Messi is not the sole favorite to win the MVP award this season, and there are plenty of stars who are expected to make their way to the top of the race. Take Christian Benteke, for instance, who is just right behind Messi in the race. No one has been better at scoring than the DC United star, and it cannot be denied that he has been on the offensive end with a lot of promising touches on his head that have led to seven goals. If you’re not satisfied with Benteke contesting Messi’s MVP claims, there’s always another candidate to consider.

Cristian Arango has been making his case for the Golden Boot with a total of 13 goals in 14 matches, and that says a lot about how he has been able to make a strong case in his games considering that his impact has surely made Real Salt Lake a promising team to watch. At this point, both Benteke and Arango pose a serious threat to Messi’s MVP chances, and there’s a lot of chance that he may lose the award to any of these two top candidates should he fail to keep the same pace going in his games.

Messi Thrives with Suarez in the MVP Race

On the bright side, another MVP candidate from Inter Miami is in the mix in the name of Luis Suarez – who has been Lionel Messi’s best winger over the years. Suarez has, as of the time of writing, tallied a total of 11 goals and five assists. Of course, the more he performs well, the better Messi builds in his MVP case for Inter Miami. Messi is a known maestro on the pitch, whether it is all about scoring or making the most of his plays to dish the ball to Suarez.

Of course, Messi would always garner more attention from critics. But you have to give credit to Suarez making it work for him at the very least. It cannot be denied that Suarez’s massive performances on the pitch is helping a lot on Messi’s case for the MVP, all the more reason why the Uruguayan star’s scoring form is definitely a boon for the top MVP candidate at this point, and it cannot be denied that he is on a prowl at this point.

Messi’s Winning History Backs Him Well

If anyone has watched European football over the years, then you should know that history favors Lionel Messi when it comes to individual awards or even team awards in the game. Ballon d’Or? Count him a total of eight on the winning side for that one. How about The Best FIFA Men’s Player Awards? He has three. The Golden Shoe? A whopping total of six times. If you don’t think that he can win MVP at this point, then you definitely have some big bets to make on that note.

Messi is a proven winner over the years, and it cannot be denied that his history of winning makes him quite hard not to root for. Messi is a proven winner in his own right, and we all know that he is going to gun for the bigger awards sooner or later, and that proves that we can count on Messi to deliver the best of his game and show the rest of the world that he can win, even on another league, the third one that he can pull off a championship and the best player award at the same season.

Can Messi Win the MVP Award?

There’s no denying that many people are questioning Messi’s longevity, you have to give them that, but one can also contemplate on the fact that he is still playing at the top of his game. Much like LeBron James does with his stay with the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 39, or Tom Brady in his miracle run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and even on that end, the odds favor Messi to get a chance to win both the MVP and even the league title by the end of the season.

At the end of the day, the season still long enough. However, it cannot be denied that Messi is coming in to make a strong case for the MVP. Of course, there will be expectations as to how he can keep the same pace with the way the season is pacing towards an eventual championship for Inter Miami under his lead.

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