NEW YORK (Monday, July 14, 2025) – Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchdays 23 and 24 of the 2025 MLS season.
The reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP continued a historic hot streak last week, bagging braces to boost Inter Miami to a 2-1 win at New England Revolution on Wednesday night and a 2-1 triumph vs. Nashville SC on Saturday. The pair of two-goal performances marked Messi’s fourth and fifth consecutive league games with braces and the Argentine legend has now netted 11 goals over his last six games, tied with forward Josef Martínez for the most-ever across a six-game stretch in league history. He’s the first player in MLS history with multiple goals in five-straight games.
With his four goals last week, Messi has also surged into a tie at the top of the race for the Golden Boot presented by Audi with 16 goals on the season. He has 36 goals and 23 assists in his last 35 MLS matches, averaging more than one goal and 1.68 goal contributions per game.
Inter Miami is now undefeated in its last six games, winning five in a row. The Herons are currently fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 38 points but have three games in hand on the four teams above them in the standings as they chase back-to-back Supporters’ Shields. Saturday’s victory snapped a club record 12-game unbeaten run for Nashville SC, an important three points against a fellow Eastern Conference contender.
On Wednesday, Messi opened the scoring midway through the first half, pouncing on a New England error in the 27th minute. Defender Tanner Beason misplayed a headed back pass and the Argentine punished the mistake, slotting home a shot to the far-left post. He doubled the Miami advantage in the 38th, getting on the end of a through ball from longtime teammate Sergio Busquets. Messi met the pass near the top of 18 and fired it to the right post for the Herons’ second.
Against Nashville, Messi kicked things off with an impressive free kick in the 17th minute. Lining up just beyond the top of the arc, Messi swung a ball through the Nashville defensive wall and bounced it to the left post past outstretched goalkeeper Joe Willis to give Miami an early lead. While Nashville drew even early in the second, Messi found the winner in the 62nd. As Willis attempted to play out of the back, Messi jumped on a misplayed pass, dribbled around the ‘keeper, and sent it past a defender for the difference-maker.
Next up, Inter Miami will face another Eastern Conference challenger when it visits second-place FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, July 16 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, Apple TV+). Then, it’s a trip to Sports Illustrated Stadium for a showdown with the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, July 19 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
The honor is Messi’s fourth Player of the Matchday award this season and 10th overall. Messi is the sixth player in league history to have won the award at least 10 times and now leads active players in the weekly honor, surpassing Josef Martínez’s nine Player of the Matchday awards.
The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
