Award season is upon us in the MLS season, with Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi up for MVP along with Luis Suarez.
The Argentine international made the 34-man shortlist despite playing just 18 regular season games this year, with Messi missing almost half the campaign due to frequent injury issues and international commitment.
Even with Messi missing a huge chunk of the season, with the 37-year-old has still managed an impressive 17 goals and ten assists in MLS, though league legend Bradley Wright-Phillips is still not sure the Inter Miami star has done enough to win the MVP award.
And MLS expert Matt Doyle has gone one step further and said no Inter Miami player is an obvious candidate for the award.
Inter Miami have no standout MVP candidate even with Messi the favorite
Speaking on Extratime, the pundit noted that Inter Miami have not had a standout option for the MVP award, though Doyle noted that Messi is likely to win it given his name and how respected the Argentine is amongst other players.
With Suarez up for the award, the chances of an Inter Miami player winning this season’s MVP trophy are high given how good the Uruguay attacker has been alongside Messi, with the duo’s star power potentially swaying votes in their favour.
Doyle said: “There’s no obvious answer on Miami. I could make the nerd argument for Busquets because he’s played the most minutes, and their record when he plays in central midfield is impeccable.
“I could make the argument for Messi who, to be clear, is going to win it because his name is going to show up on the ballot and all the players are going to vote for him, and he’s the best player ever.”
No Inter Miami player deserves the MVP award this year
It might seem to claim that no Inter Miami player deserves the MVP award given that the Florida franchise have been the best side in the league this year having already won the Supporters’ Shield.
Yet Inter Miami’s success in MLS has come down to a collective push from the entire squad rather than one single player being extraordinary and pushing the team to the play-offs and the title.
And as a result, Messi and Suarez would be undeserving winners of the MVP award, even if both players have been fantastic in their own right in their first full years in MLS.