NEW YORK (Sunday, July 20, 2025) – Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi was voted the Major League Soccer Player of Matchday 26 of the 2025 MLS season.
Continuing one of the most torrid runs in league history, Messi assisted on Miami’s first two goals and scored the club’s final two goals in a 5-1 road victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night. The Argentine star has scored at least two goals in six of his last seven MLS matches and has accumulated 19 goal contributions over the span.
Miami (41 points, 12-4-5) remained in fifth place in the Eastern Conference table with three games in hand over each of the four teams sitting above them and is one only three teams averaging at least 1.95 points per game this season, joining Nashville SC (1.96) and the Philadelphia Union (1.96).
After falling behind 1-0, Messi found fellow MLS All-Star Jordi Alba streaking inside the box on a perfect through ball, which Alba deposited into the back of the net for the club’s opening goal. Three minutes later, Messi found Alba inside the 18 and the latter fed Telasco Segovia for a lead that the club would not relinquish. The eight-time Ball d’Or winner then found the back of the net in the 60th minute and the 75th minute to fully secure the Herons victory.
Messi’s two goals moved him into a tie with Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge atop the Golden Boot presented by Audi leaderboard with 18, and Messi now has the most goals in MLS since the start of the 2024 season with 38. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has 38 goals and 25 assists since the start of last season and is one of only five players in league history to record at least 35 goals and 25 assists over a two-year span, joining Robbie Keane (2013-14), Sebastian Giovinco (2015-16), Carlos Vela (2018-19), and Cucho Hernández (2023-24).
This is Messi’s fifth Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra honor of the season, and his third since Matchday 22. His 11 Player of the Matchday accolades are tied with Chris Wondolowski (11) for the fifth-most in MLS history and trails only Landon Donovan (19), Jeff Cunningham (14), and Bradley Wright-Phillips (12). Messi is the first player in league history to win Player of the Matchday at least five times in a single season twice, after taking home the award six times during his Landon Donvan MLS MVP campaign in 2024. Only three players have earned Player of the Matchday six times in a single season – Messi (2024), Carlos Vela (2019), and Jason Kreis (1999) and all three players earned the Landon Donovan MLS MVP in those seasons.
Following the MLS All-Star week, Miami returns to action in a key Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield battle against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 26 (7:15 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / Apple TV+ / FS1 / FOX Deportes).
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.
