Two Inter Miami stars, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, are on the shortlist for the title of Best Player of the 2024 season of the American professional soccer league.
The list of 34 candidates was announced by the MLS Organizing Committee on October 7. It includes Messi, Suárez (Inter Miami Club), Lucho Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew) and Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy).
Each candidate must play at least 1,000 minutes. Voting begins from 7 to 21 October. Members of the coaching staff, team players and media representatives took part in the voting. Each group is entitled to decide 33.3% of the points. The name of the winner will be announced on 28 October, during the week of the play-off phase.
Messi (left) and Suarez celebrate a goal during the Columbus Crew 2-3 Inter Miami match on Oct. 3. Photo: AP.
Messi joined Inter Miami on July 15, 2023. Last season, he also received a nomination for the Best Player award. This season, the 37-year-old forward played 18 games, but scored 17 goals and provided 15 assists, ranking fourth in the top scorers race. He had to miss 15 games due to injury and went to the Copa America with the Argentine national team.
Suarez has scored 18 goals and assisted seven times in 26 games, and DC United’s Christian Benteke leads the scoring race with 23 goals.
With key contributions from Messi and Suarez, Inter Miami have been crowned Supporters’ Shield 2024 champions. They lead the two-region standings with 71 points after 33 games, 11 points ahead of qualified Columbus Crew.
If they win against the New England Revolution in the final round on October 19, Inter Miami will set a new season record of 74 points. The New England Revolution themselves hold the record, with 73 points in the 2021 season.
In addition to the Best Player award, Suarez also competed with teammate Matias Rojas for the Best Rookie award. Other Inter Miami members are also nominated for many other awards, including Federico Redondo and Diego Gomez (Best Young Player), Jordi Alba (Best Defender) and Tata Martino (Best Coach).
Each season, MLS awards two collective titles, including the Supporters’ Shield to the team with the most points and the MLS Cup to the team that wins the play-off phase. Messi has won two titles since joining Inter Miami, the 2023 Leagues Cup and the 2024 Supporters’ Shield. This is also all that Inter Miami has won in its six years of existence. Last season, it ranked 27th out of 29 teams and did not make it to the play-off phase.
