Messi on Pace for Historic MLS MVP Three-Peat

Lionel Messi is on course to make MLS history, with the league's MVP Power Rankings placing the Inter Miami star top for an unprecedented third consecutive MVP award.

Messi alone at the top

Let's be honest: there's two-time reigning MLS MVP Leo Messi, and then there's everyone else in this year's race. That was the verdict of the league's latest MVP Power Rankings, which placed the Inter Miami captain first with one month of the season to play.

The numbers behind the ranking are overwhelming. Messi has 21 goals and 13 assists — good for the league lead in both goals and assists, a double dominance that no other player in the league can match. There is simply no better individual player in MLS at changing a game in a single moment.

If Messi completes the three-peat, he will become the first player in league history to win the MVP three times, let alone three times in a row. It would be another line in a season that has already seen him score his 100th goal in all competitions for Inter Miami.

The numbers behind the race

Messi's statistical case is built on consistency as much as brilliance. Earlier in September he reached 20 goals and 13 assists, leading the league with 33 goal contributions — and he has kept adding to the tally since. His 100th Inter Miami goal came in the Campeones Cup win over Mexican side Cruz Azul, a milestone that arrived with yet another trophy.

Former USMNT midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who publishes his own MVP rankings, backed Messi early: "Messi and Evander are again locked in a neck-and-neck battle for MVP. And while it feels impossible to choose one right now, I am giving Messi the slight edge. He's got more goals than his fellow No. 10, and he's helped his team climb higher in the standings."

New York Red Bulls legend Bradley Wright-Phillips went further, telling Deporte Total USA that he had made the mistake of writing Messi off before: "He wins the Golden Boot easily. If he wants on a day, he can just score three or four goals. It's very hard to compete with that... Yeah, he's going to win it all."

Who can catch him?

The rankings have Hany Mukhtar second, and the Nashville SC forward has a genuine case of his own. Mukhtar has 13 goals and 7 assists in a consistent campaign, and his side are running away with the Supporters' Shield — team success is always a powerful MVP argument.

Carles Gil sits third. The 2021 MVP has been one of MLS's most elegant players in recent years, with 12 goals and 9 assists for a New England side sitting second in the East. Then comes Evander, who has dropped a few spots after a dip in form for FC Cincinnati but still carries an impressive 13-goal, 13-assist ledger.

Whitecaps forward Brian White has also drawn attention for a quietly outstanding season, with 96 goals in all competitions since arriving in Vancouver. But the honest assessment from most observers is the same: Messi would have to collapse badly in the final month for anyone else to take this award.

What unites the challengers is how much has to go right for them — and how much has to go wrong for Messi. Mukhtar needs Nashville to keep winning the Shield race; Gil needs New England to hold second in the East; Evander needs to rediscover the form that had Cincinnati near the top. Messi needs only to keep doing what he has done all season.

A record that would stand alone

To understand the scale of the achievement, look at the MVP history books. Messi has already won the award in 2024 and 2025. Aside from him, Preki — the 1997 and 2003 winner — is the only other player in league history to be named MVP more than once.

A third consecutive award would not just extend Messi's personal collection; it would create a category of one. It would also mean Inter Miami have produced the MVP in three straight seasons — a streak matched by very few clubs in any sport.

The award is decided by a vote of players, media and club technical staff after the regular season, with the winner usually announced in December. For now, the rankings serve as the best public barometer — and they are not subtle about where the momentum lies.

Club form while saying goodbye internationally

The timing of Messi's club surge is poignant. Days before his 208th and final Argentina cap — the farewell friendly against Benin at the Más Monumental on 6 October — the 39-year-old is playing some of the best football of his Inter Miami career. Inter Miami sit third in the Supporters' Shield race with 44 points, firmly in the mix to defend their MLS Cup title as the postseason approaches.

Messi is only retiring from international duty; he continues with Inter Miami, where he remains under contract through 2028. The farewell in Buenos Aires closes one chapter, but the MLS chapter — and possibly the MVP three-peat — is still being written.

The final month decides it

Can anyone else have a monster final month and snatch the MVP from Messi? That is the question the rankings posed — and the implied answer was no. Messi's lead in goals and assists, combined with Inter Miami's position in the playoff race, gives him the two currencies that decide MVP votes: individual dominance and team relevance.

A three-peat would cap one of the most decorated individual seasons in MLS history. For Argentina fans preparing to say goodbye on 6 October, it is also a reminder: the international farewell may be imminent, but Lionel Messi is not slowing down.

There is also the matter of momentum. Awards voters remember the final month, and Messi's recent form — match-winning curlers, MVP-calibre performances week after week — has arrived at exactly the right time. A strong finish would turn the rankings' current projection into something close to a coronation.

Questions people ask