Inter Miami CF Forward Lionel Messi Voted MLS Player of the Matchday Presented by Michelob ULTRA for Matchday 8
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Inter Miami CF Forward Lionel Messi Voted MLS Player of the Matchday Presented by Michelob ULTRA for Matchday 8

Published on April 20, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK - Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA for Matchday 8 of the 2026 MLS season.

Messi scored twice, including the game-winning goal in the 80th minute, to propel Inter Miami to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rapids in front of a record crowd at Empower Field at Mile High (Watch Highlights From His Performance Here). The two-time Landon Donovan MLS MVP winner has now scored seven times in seven games, which is tied for second in MLS this season. Messi's seven goals have come on just 3.87 expected goals this season and his plus-3.13 goals over expected is the best in the league through Matchday 8. With his brace, Messi now has 18 multi-goal games in his first 60 appearances and 28 games with at least two goal contributions. Since the start of 2024, Messi has 91 goal contributions (56 goals, 35 assists), which is tied for the third-most in a three-season span in league history (Denis Bouanga from 2023-25), and is two behind the all-time record held by Luciano Acosta (93 from 2022-24).

Messi opened the scoring in the 18th minute after Yannick Bright drew a penalty kick and the 38-year-old stepped up to the spot and calmly rolled his finish down the middle. After a back-and-forth affair, the game entered the 80th minute tied 2-2. Messi then delivered the winning moment as he drove at the Rapids' defense, cut inside with one touch, and placed his patented left-footed finish into the corner of the net to secure the victory.

This marks the 14th time in his career that Messi has been named MLS Player of the Matchday and it his is second award this season after earning the honor on Matchday 2. Messi is now tied with Jeff Cunningham (14) for the second-most Player of the Matchday awards in MLS history, behind only Landon Donovan (19).

Inter Miami returns to action with two matches this week - the first on Wednesday, April 22 at Real Salt Lake (9:30 p.m. ET, MLS on Apple TV) before returning home to Nu Stadium to take on the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 25 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS on Apple TV).

The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.

2026 MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA Winners

Matchday Player Club

Matchday 1 Julian Hall Red Bull New York

Matchday 2 Lionel Messi Inter Miami CF

Matchday 3 Wiki Carmona CF Montréal

Matchday 4 Petar Musa FC Dallas

Matchday 5 Sam Surridge Nashville SC

Matchday 6 Denis Bouanga LAFC

Matchday 7 Rafael Navarro Colorado Rapids

Matchday 8 Lionel Messi Inter Miami CF

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 20, 2026


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