Lionel Messi becomes first-ever back-to-back MLS MVP

Tom Weber

• Updated: 9 Dec 2025 11:13 CST
• 3 min read

News

Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi has become the first player in Major League Soccer history to win the Landon Donovan MVP award in consecutive seasons.

The Argentine is coming off a spectacular 2025 calendar year after leading the Herons to their first MLS Cup in franchise history. Messi and company defeated a spirited Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 at Chase Stadium on Saturday.

After shockingly losing in the first round of the playoffs in 2024 - as reigning Supporters' Shield winners, no less - this triumph was a deserved reward for Messi, who has been nothing short of sensational since arriving stateside in 2023.

In 88 appearances for Miami across all competitions, Messi has racked up a whopping 77 goals and 44 assists. 57 of those goals have been scored in 62 MLS games, with 36 assists to boot (or 45 assists - one of MLS's quirks is that the league officially counts "secondary" or "pre-assists" as well).

In 2025, Messi won the Golden Boot with 29 regular-season goals - he would go on to score six more in the playoffs - and he also recorded the joint-most regular-season assists with 19 (including pre-assists). He set up nine more goals in the postseason (again, including pre-assists).

Messi named MVP again

Unsurprisingly, given these numbers, Messi was the overwhelming favourite to win the league's coveted Landon Donovan MVP award for the second season running.

MLS has now indeed announced the 38-year-old as this year's MVP, which means that Messi is the first player in league history to win the award in consecutive seasons, albeit he is not the first two-time winner.

Up until today, the only player to be named MVP twice was Preki, the Belgrade-born former US international, who played for the Kansas City Wizards and the Miami Fusion in the early years of MLS. He is currently an assistant coach with the Seattle Sounders.

Considering that Messi recently signed a new three-year contract with Inter Miami, there is a solid chance to see him become the first three-time MVP in MLS history. With all due respect to the 2009 winner Landon Donovan, MLS may have to reconsider the name of the award...

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