Inter Miami CF Captain Lionel Messi was named Michelob Ultra’s Champions League Player of the Match for Matchday 36 of the 2024 MLS season. Notably, Messi won his fifth POTM award this regular season with the honor.
Messi was subsequently named Player of the Match in the team’s 2-3 win over the Columbus Crew, as Inter Miami won their first Supporters’ Shield title. On the season, Messi has combined for 32 goals (17 goals and 15 assists), tied for second most in MLS, doing so in just 17 games; His assists are just one behind Portland’s Evander (33).
Among players with at least five goals, Messi leads the league in goals per 90 minutes, averaging 1.01 goals. With their first goal tonight, Miami (72 goals) became just the 10th team in MLS history to score 70 or more goals in a season. In addition, the club became only the third team since 2011 to win the Supporters’ Shield after missing the playoffs the previous year, following LAFC in 2022 and the San Jose Earthquakes in 2012.
Messi found the net in the 45th minute with a delicate touch past the goalkeeper and then added a second goal in first-half stoppage time with a spectacular 27-yard free-kick.
This is the fifth time Messi has been named MLS Matchday Player of the Year by Michelob Ultra this season, having previously done so for his performances on Matchdays 9, 11, 12 and 32. Messi is the fifth player in MLS history to win the prize. at least five times in the same season, joining Carlos Vela (six in 2019), Thierry Henry (five in 2012), Jason Kreis (six in 1999) and Cobi Jones (five in 1998).
Inter Miami will look to continue its pursuit of the single-season scoring record by winning its last two games, with the first coming Saturday away at Toronto FC (4 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
The MLS Player of the Day presented by Michelob Ultra is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process managed by MLS Communications. The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) panel of reporters comprises 75 percent of the votes, while the X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent. NASR is comprised of members from the print, television, radio and online media.
