MLS awards winners, finalists: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez up for MVP; Wilfried Nancy to finally win top coach?

With MLS Cup Playoffs in full swing, the finalists for end-of-season awards have been announced. They were determined from a vote including MLS players, staff, and members of the media with the three groups making up 33.3% of the final vote. Inter Miami are well represented in the finalists with a league-high six players which makes sense after setting a new single-season points record.

In his first full season in the league, Lionel Messi will be going for his first MVP but he’ll be up against his teammate Luis Suarez for the honor. The Columbus Crew are right behind the Herons with five finalists while LAFC have three. As awards are announced, this story will be updated accordingly with the winners. 

Some awards have been announced such as Gabriel Pec besting Luis Suarez for Newcomer of the Year and Steven Moreira winning the Defender of the Year award but

Comeback Player of the Year: Lewis Morgan, New York Red Bulls

Leading your team in goals and getting back into the Scottish national team is already impressive in its own right but Lewis Morgan was able to do all of that after multiple injuries limited him to fewer than 300 minutes played in the 2023 season for New York Red Bulls. After undergoing hip surgery in September of 2023, there was a chance that Morgan wouldn’t play again but not only did he return but he even set a new club record for the most goals scored by a midfielder in a single season with 14. This is even with Designated Player Emile Forsberg joining to be one of the key players in the attack. Like others on this list, Morgan was able to lead the Red Bulls to the playoffs and they’re a side who are still competing now.

Defender of the Year: Steven Moreira, Columbus Crew

Integral to the Columbus Crew’s buildup play under Wilfried Nancy, center back Steven Moreira has won the Defender of the Year award. While the Crew’s defense was a strong one conceding only 40 matches this is more about Moriera’s importance in possession. Not only did he record six goal contributions, Moreira was critical to starting counter attacks by being calm in possession to keep the Crew’s attack ticking over. He bested manes like Jordi Alba and Jackson Ragen to win the award behind the media vote edging Alba by just three percent.

Goalkeeper of the Year: Kristijan Kahlina, Charlotte FC

Goalkeeper of the year was expected to be a race between Matt Freese and Patrick Schulte for most of the season, but following a strong close to the year, Kristijan Kahlina was able to earn keeper of the year honors. Charlotte FC conceded the second fewest goals in the league while the Croatian keeper led the league in save percentage at 75.63% and oversaw 12 shutouts. He becomes the first member of Charlotte FC ever to win an MLS year-end award.

Newcomer of the Year, Gabriel Pec, Los Angeles Galaxy

If you’ve bested Luis Suarez for an award that shows how impactful you have been, you’re doing something right. That’s just what Gabriel Pec did with the Galaxy. Joining as a young Designated Player from Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Pec was ever present scoring 16 goals and assisting 14 more. He was able to best Joseph Paintsil to be the best signing on his own team while leading the Galaxy to the second seed in the Western Conference, becoming the youngest player with at least 15 goals and 10 assists in a season at 23-years-old. Pec is someone who shows the shift in production to younger stars in the league and he still has more to do as this is a team that could win the MLS Cup.

Young Player of the Year, Diego Luna, Real Salt Lake

It was a loaded field for Young Player of the Year with Diego Luna besting Diego Gomez and Cristian Olivera, but when it comes to impact, it was clear what the 21-year-old meant to Real Salt Lake. Luna had eight goals and 12 assists this season while helping the team to a club record 59 points this season to make the playoffs and qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. Luna became the third American to earn the award since it shifted from being the Rookie of the Year alongside Ricardo Pepi and Jesus Ferrerira. The last member of Real Salt Lake to win any version of the award was Corey Baird in 2018.

Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalists

• Christian Benteke (D.C. United)
• Evander (Portland Timbers)
• Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew)
• Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
• Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF)

Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year finalists

• Chris Armas (Colorado Rapids)
• Gerardo “Tata” Martino (Inter Miami CF)
• Wilfried Nancy (Columbus Crew)

Impact Award finalists

• Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution)
• Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew)
• Ilie Sánchez (LAFC)