Inter Miami CF Forward Lionel Messi Named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 16 

NEW YORK (Thursday, May 29, 2025) – Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 16 of the 2025 MLS season.

The reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP boosted the Herons to an emphatic 4-2 win against CF Montréal, netting two goals and adding an assist ( Messi’s performance made him the first player in club history with 50 goal contributions in regular season play, tallying 29 goals and 21 assists after just 37 games in South Florida. The Argentine legend is now up to eight goals and three assists in MLS play this season, scoring in back-to-back games for the fourth time across competitions this year.

Messi’s stellar showing ended a four-match winless streak for Inter Miami and a six-game skid without a victory in all competitions. The Herons now sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings ahead of a showdown with perennial Audi MLS Cup Playoffs contender Columbus Crew on Saturday, May 31 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, Apple TV+) and kicking off the FIFA Club World Cup against Al Ahly (Egypt) on Saturday, June 14 (8:00 p.m. ET, DAZN.com).

The Argentine opened the scoring in Fort Lauderdale in the 27th minute, as midfielder Sergio Busquets drove down the middle of the field and laid it off for Messi. The forward took a few touches to center it before ripping a shot from the top of the arc to the far-left post (Watch Here). An impressive dribbling run in the 68th minute led to Miami doubling its lead through Messi and longtime teammate Luis Suárez. Receiving the ball in the box, he dribbled around one defender and lured another in before launching a cross to Suárez at the far-left post, where the Uruguayan controlled it and hit it home to the right side of the net (Watch Here). Messi put an exclamation point on the match in the 88th minute. On a quick transition downfield, Suárez laid it off for Messi running down the right wing and a give-and-go between the two sprung Messi free past the defense for a one-on-one with goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois. He chipped it over the onrushing Sirois to bag his first brace of the regular season (Watch Here).

It's Messi’s first Player of the Matchday award this year and seventh overall. He took home the weekly honors six times in 2024, becoming the third player in league history to do so during his first full season with Inter Miami. The talismanic attacker most recently won for Matchday 38 in 2024, scoring a hat trick off the bench in Miami’s 6-2 win against the New England Revolution to clinch the MLS single-season points record.

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 Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.