Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 12 of the 2024 regular season.
A Historic Night
Messi earns Player of the Matchday honors after a historic appearance over the weekend, breaking several MLS records and establishing a new Club record:
- First player to ever record five assists in one MLS match, and first player to register six goal contributions in a single MLS match as part of Inter Miami’s 6-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls playing in front of a second-consecutive Club-record home crowd.
- Has produced an MLS-high 22 goal contributions (10 goals, 12 assists) in just 675 minutes this season.
- With a goal contribution in each of his first eight games this season, the Argentine is the third player in league history to accomplish this feat, alongside Cobi Jones (nine in 1998) and Clint Dempsey (eight in 2015).
- First player in Club history with at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season.
All six of Messi’s goal contributions (one goal, five assists) in the 6-2 win over the Red Bulls on Saturday night at Chase Stadium came in the second half, in what was the game in which the team scored the most goals in Club history. Miami’s six second-half goals were also tied for the most in a single half in league history.
With Messi’s play, Miami has averaged 2.66 goals scored per game, which would match the MLS record in a single season, set by the LA Galaxy in 1998. The Herons currently lead MLS in points (24), points per game (2.00), wins (seven), goals scored (32), and goal differential (+14). Over the last four games, the Club has scored 16 goals with at least three goals in each match.
Our captain played provider for five of the team’s goals in the historic 6-2 win over the New York Red Bulls. First, he assisted recently signed Paraguayan midfielder Matías Rojas in the 48th and 62nd minutes.
He then carried on in his role as distributor dishing out assists for Luis Suárez in the 69th, 75th and 81st minutes.
Messi also struck to get his name onto the scoresheet, capitalizing on a Suárez assist with a first-time finish inside the box to send the ball to the back of the net to give Inter Miami a 2-1 lead and complete the team’s comeback in the 50th minute after initially going down 0-1 in the first half.
Messi has earned three of the last four MLS Player of the Matchday honors in the same season, becoming the second player in MLS history to accomplish this feat alongside former New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry in 2012 (Matchdays 3, 4, and 5). The last player to earn three Player of the Matchday honors within the first 12 to begin a season was Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández for the LA Galaxy in 2021. With his three Player of the Matchday honors, Messi has already tied Leonardo Campana for the most in Club history.
Inter Miami and Messi will look to extend their record-breaking start to the season as they aim for their first road win at Stade Saputo in Club history when the team travels to face CF Montréal on Saturday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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 X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
