Award season is officially here in MLS, with the 2024 season coming to a close with the play-offs just around the corner.
Inter Miami head into post-season as Supporters’ Shield winners with Lionel Messi and company just one win away from setting a new MLS regular season points record, currently held by the New England Revolution, who the Herons face in the last league game.
With Messi and Luis Suarez nominated for MLS MVP with Bradley Wright-Phillips saying Tata Martino is a strong candidate to win MLS Coach of the Year, Inter Miami could be about to win a bunch of awards with the end of the season upon us.
And one Inter Miami star has already scooped up one of the biggest and most unique awards in MLS.
Diego Gomez named no. 1 in MLS’s 22 Under 22
As per MLS’s official website, Diego Gomez has topped MLS’s annual 22 Under 22 list, a showpiece event to honor the 22 best players in the league aged 22 or younger, with the Inter Miami midfielder coming out on top.
With Benjamin Cremaschi and Federico Redondo making the top-ten with fellow Inter Miami youngsters Tomas Aviles and David Ruiz also cracking the list, Gomez topping everyone is an incredible sign of the Paraguay international’s talent.
Hailed by Target Scouting as an ‘unbelievable’ player, Gomez is set to join Brighton & Hove Albion in January for a club-record fee worth as much as $18m for Inter Miami, with the 21-year-old more than earning the move.
And with Gomez now winning MLS’s 22 Under 22 for 2024, the future Premier League player will have an extra wind in his sail heading into the play-offs, where Inter Miami will want the midfielder on his best form for the post-season.
Gomez more than deserves this recognition after impressive Inter Miami stint
Gomez only broke through into Inter Miami’s starting XI fully this year after returning to Florida last summer before spending the majority of 2023 out with a long-term injury.
Yet this year has shown why Gomez has won a move to the Premier League and why the Paraguay international is now regarded as the most exciting young player in all of MLS.
Versatile, athletic and strong, Gomez is on course to become the next MLS product to make a name for himself in Europe, and Inter Miami’s gamble on the midfielder has more than paid off.