NEW YORK: Lionel Messi was named Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player on Friday after leading Inter Miami to a record-breaking regular season campaign.
The Argentine superstar was handed the accolade after his performances helped Miami to a record regular season points tally, earning the club its first ever Supporters Shield.
“Truly, it is an honor for me to receive this award from all of you,” Messi told the players at Inter Miami as quoted by Times of India.
“It’s a source of pride to watch you all train. I’m very happy to be here every day. I’m very happy to be in this city, in this club that is growing. […] It’s a pleasure to see you grow day by day. I invite you to keep fighting and striving for your dreams,” he added.
The 37-year-old maestro finished the regular season with a league-leading 36 goal contributions after netting 20 goals and 16 assists.
Messi’s MVP award comes despite an injury-hit campaign that saw him make only 19 appearances this year.
Miami and Messi’s season ultimately fizzled out, when the team suffered a shock first-round defeat in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Messi is the 10th South American to win the MVP, and the fifth from Argentina after Luciano Acosta, Diego Valeri, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and Christian Gomez.
The football star went on to lament that Inter Miami fell short in the playoff and exited in the first-round at the hands of Atlanta United.
“I would have liked to receive this award in another situation, being able to play on Saturday,” Messi said as quoted by Miami Herald.
“But that’s also what futbol is about, overcoming yourself every day. We had a big dream of being MLS champions this year. It didn’t happen, but next year we’ll come back stronger to try again […] fight for your dreams, work hard, and in the end, sacrifice and effort are rewarded,” he added.
Miami was favourite to win the MLS Cup final or at least was favoured to reach the finals instead the LA Galaxy will play the New York Red Bulls on Saturday for the title.