MESSI NOMINATED FOR 2026 MLS MVP AWARD

Lionel Messi has been shortlisted for the 2026 Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player award, putting the Inter Miami captain in contention to become the first player to win the honour for three consecutive seasons.

MLS announced the finalists for its 2026 Year-End Awards on its official website on Thursday.

Messi, who claimed the award in 2024 and 2025, will compete for this year’s prize alongside Evander of FC Cincinnati, Guilherme of Houston Dynamo, Hany Mukhtar of Nashville SC and Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia Union.

The Argentine forward secured his nomination following another outstanding regular season, scoring 26 goals in 31 appearances to emerge as the winner of the 2026 MLS Golden Boot.

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He also made history as the first player in MLS to win the Golden Boot in successive seasons, while recording a league-leading 17 assists for Inter Miami.

The league celebrated his achievement in a post on X on Tuesday, stating, “Another season, another Golden Boot pres. by Audi for Messi.”

Messi also won the MLS Goal of the Matchday award seven times during the regular season and featured in the MLS Team of the Matchday on 13 occasions.

The 2026 MLS Year-End Awards finalists represent 15 clubs, with the winners expected to be announced during the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs.

The finalists were determined through votes from MLS club technical staff, first-team players and selected media representatives, with each group contributing 33.3 per cent to the overall results.

However, voting for the MLS Humanitarian of the Year award involved four groups: club technical staff, first-team players, selected media representatives and community relations staff, each accounting for 25 per cent of the final votes.

FULL LIST OF MLS 2026 YEAR-END AWARDS FINALISTS

LANDON DONOVAN MLS MVP

• Evander (FC Cincinnati)

• Guilherme (Houston Dynamo FC)

• Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)

• Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)

• Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union)

SIGI SCHMID MLS COACH OF THE YEAR

• B.J. Callaghan (Nashville SC)

• Yoann Damet (St. Louis CITY SC)

• Jesper Sørensen (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

MLS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

• Antoine Griezmann (Orlando City)

• Guilherme (Houston Dynamo FC)

• André Luiz (Sporting Kansas City)

MLS YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Julian Hall (Red Bull New York)

• Adri Mehmeti (Red Bull New York)

• Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union)

MLS DEFENDER OF THE YEAR

• Andy Najar (Nashville SC)

• Jeisson Palacios (Nashville SC)

• Maxwell Woledzi (Nashville SC)

MLS GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR

• Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC)

• Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)

• Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

MLS COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

• Nick Hagglund (FC Cincinnati)

• Eduard Löwen (San Jose Earthquakes)

MLS HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR

• Paul Arriola (Seattle Sounders FC)

• Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution)

• Telasco Segovia (Inter Miami CF)

• Mason Stajduhar (Real Salt Lake)

• Brad Stuver (Austin FC)

Meanwhile, voting for the MLS Goal of the Year and Save of the Year awards opened on Monday, November 9, and will close on Tuesday, November 17.

The MLS Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year awards are scheduled to be announced on Friday, while the league’s Best XI will be unveiled at a later date.