Lionel Messi's Decision Day heroics off the bench have earned Inter Miami CF's superstar No. 10 MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra honors for Matchday 38.
Messi scored a hat trick and added an assist in just over 30 minutes on the Chase Stadium pitch to power the Supporters' Shield-winning Herons to a 6-2 Decision Day rout of the New England Revolution that clinched the MLS single-season points record (74).
Messi's masterful performance helped him finish the 2024 MLS regular season with 20g/16a, leading the league with 36 goal contributions (fifth most all-time) despite playing only 1,485 minutes.
Teammate Luis Suárez's first-half brace gave the Uruguayan striker 20g/9a on the season, making Miami the first team in MLS history to have two players score at least 20 goals each in a single regular season.
Messi's latest MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra award makes him a six-time winner this season, following his efforts in Matchdays 9, 11, 12, 32, and 36. He joins Carlos Vela (2019) and Jason Kreis (1999) as the only players in MLS history to earn the honor six different times in a single season.
Messi and top-seeded Inter Miami begin their Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series on Friday against the winner of Tuesday's Eastern Conference Wild Card between CF Montréal and Atlanta United (8:30 pm ET | Apple TV - Free).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra 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.
