Lionel Messi of Inter Miami has been nominated for two MLS awards despite only appearing in four games this season. Messi, 36, is up for the MLS Most Valuable Player and Newcomer of the Year awards. Despite having just played 247 minutes since coming in Miami this summer.
Since completing his surprise move to Miami, the Argentine icon has captured the interest of the footballing world once more. In his first 12 games, he scored eleven goals and assisted on five others.
Messi made his Major League Soccer debut on August 26. In the 60th minute, he came on as a substitute. Messi appeared in four games for Inter Miami this season, with two more possibilities this month. Messi has been nominated for both the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Newcomer of the Year 2023 awards. The voting period will run from October 10 through October 23.
However, the player has missed five of his new team’s previous six games due to injury, adding to the strangeness of his candidature for the honours. Nonetheless, he has been included to Argentina’s World Cup qualifying team for games against Paraguay and Peru.
Inter Miami’s next game is against top-of-the-league Cincinnati on Sunday. After battling scar tissue and a muscle problem in recent weeks, the Argentine attacker hopes to return in the last game before the international break.