Miami's Messi, Suárez among MLS MVP nominees

Inter Miami CF's Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez are front-runners for MLS MVP award, after MLS on Monday released the complete list of the 34 nominees, which include FC Cincinnati's Lucho Acosta, Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernández and LA Galaxy's Riqui Puig.

Both Suárez and Messi have met the new qualifying 2024 minimum of 1,000 minutes played in the regular season campaign. Voting opened on Monday and runs through Oct. 21.

Messi earned his second nomination for the award since joining the league on July 15, 2023, but has yet to win MLS MVP.

The forward is being considered the leading candidate after contributing 17 goals and 15 assists this year, despite only playing in 18 league matches this season.

He's seen a considerable amount of time on the sideline due to injury, most recently sitting out for two months to rehabilitate a right ankle injury, while also missing league action to feature for the Argentina national team. Still, he's tied for fourth place on the Golden Boot standings.

Suárez, on the other hand, has recorded 18 goals and seven assists in 26 games in his first ever MLS season.

The Uruguay national team forward adjusted quickly to the U.S. league, climbing to third place on the Golden Boot rankings and largely contributing to Inter Miami's Supporters' Shield success.

Together, Messi and Suárez account for 35 of the team's 73 goals this season.

Miami's Suárez and Matías Rojas are among the candidates for MLS Newcomer of the Year, while Miami's Federico Redondo and Diego Gómez were nominated by Miami for MLS Young Player of the Year and Jordi Alba included in the MLS Defender of the Year list.

Head coach Gerardo Martino also joined the list of nominees for the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award.

MLS club staff, players and media members will vote for the nominees from Oct. 7-21. As per league rules, "an equal 33.3 percent from each voting group will account for the final result."

All awards, except Supporters' Shield and Golden Boot, will be determined by the votes of the club staff, players and media members.

Each group is advised not to consider Leagues Cup, US Open Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup or international performances when voting, focusing only on the 2024 MLS regular season contributions from each nominee.

Winners will be announced from Oct. 28 through the week of the 2024 MLS Cup.

Inter Miami saw a meteoric rise to the top of the league in 2024, clinching the Supporters' Shield on Oct. 2 and chasing the record for most points recorded in a single MLS season.

With a victory against the New England Revolution on Oct. 19, the Herons will make league history and set a new standard with 74 points in one campaign.

The New England Revolution currently hold the record after managing 73 points during the 2021 season.

The Herons saw a drastic improvement from last year, concluding the 2023 campaign in 14th place on the Eastern Conference standings with merely 34 points in 34 games to miss out on the playoffs.

Now, the team has clinched home advantage through the postseason due to their regular-season record.

Inter Miami will kick off the playoffs on Oct. 25 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, against the winner of the Eastern Conference wild card match.