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Lionel Messi is once again on the brink of winning another prestigious award in his illustrious career. He is among the five candidates for the Landon Donovan award for Most Valuable Player of the Major League Soccer, the league announced this Thursday.
Alongside his friend and teammate Luis Suárez, the two Inter Miami player look for the award in what has become a foreign dominated category in the league. Four of the five MVP nominees are Latino.
Along with the Argentine and the Uruguayan, the Colombian Juan Camilo 'Cucho' Hernández from Columbus Crew, and the Brazilian Evander from Portland Timbers, appear as the one from Latin roots.
Belgian Christian Benteke from D.C. United completes the list of contenders for an MVP that Argentine Luciano Acosta won last year playing for FC Cincinnati. The MLS playoffs could also determine the winner of the trophy.
Numbers don't lie in Miami
Lionel Messi is the favorite for this award after an impressive campaign in which he scored 20 goals and had 16 assists in just 19 games played. Luis Suárez scored 20 goals and had 9 assists in 27 games and is also nominated for the MLS contract of the year award.
Both the Argentinian and the Uruguayan striker were essential for Inter Miami to win the MLS ers' Shield, the trophy awarded to the best team in the regular season, and for the team to break the historical points record of the league.
Inter Miami also has Jordi Alba nominated for the Best Defender award, Gerardo Martino for Best Coach in the MLS and the Paraguayan Diego Gómez has already won the recognition for Best Young Player of the season. There is a reason they are the best team in the league, now they have to confirm it in the playoffs.