LIONEL MESSI has been nominated for Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player award, despite playing just FOUR Games.
World Cup winner Messi only arrived in the United States in July as he linked up with Inter Miami.
Messi promptly came into the team and used his magic to fire Inter to their first-ever silverware with the Leagues Cup, scoring ten goals and adding one assist.
However, those were not regular season games for the MLS.
The 36-year-old has appeared in four regular season games for David Beckham’s franchise.
In those games, he has scored once and also contributed two assists.
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Despite these less-than-impressive numbers and low sample size, Messi has been nominated for the League’s MVP award – which is named after USMNT legend Landon Donovan.
Responding to the news, fans were left stunned, with one remarking: “What kind of joke 🤡.”
A second said: “Ridiculous whoever put his name on that list.”
A third joked: “Might as well nominate him for Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar and Grammy while we are at it.”
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Another added: “There is a better argument for giving Taylor Swift NFL MVP than giving the injured Messi MLS MVP on a team that will miss playoffs.”
Regardless of Messi’s late introduction into the team, Inter’s poor start to the season means they are set to miss out on the post-season play-offs.
Last season’s play-off final saw Gareth Bale score in extra-time as Los Angeles FC beat Philadelphia Union on penalties.
MLS teams can nominate a maximum of two players for the award.
Voting will begin on October 10 and conclude on October 23 at the end of the MLS regular season.
The winner is determined by three voting factors, each with a third of the weighting:
- Current MLS players
- MLS coaches, technical directors/general managers
- Select media members representing local and national outlets who consistently covered the 2023 MLS regular season
Messi was also nominated in the Newcomer of the Year category.
The Barcelona legend reportedly plans to return boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys when his current contract runs out in 2025.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
