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New York City FC Forward David Villa Named Landon Donovan MLS MVP

Published on December 6, 2016 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK, NY (Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016) - Major League Soccer today announced New York City FC forward David Villa as the 2016 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player. Villa was presented with the MVP award by MLS Commissioner Don Garber at an event today in New York City.

In a landmark year for both club and player, Villa's standout performance helped lead one of the biggest club turnarounds in MLS. After finishing the 2015 season 17th overall, Villa carried New York City FC to its first MLS Cup Playoffs appearance in the club's sophomore year with 23 goals, second most in the league, and four assists. NYCFC finished the 2016 regular season second in the Eastern Conference with a total of 54 points and a 15-10-9 record.

- Video soundbytes from Villa in English and Spanish are available HERE

- Photos from today's MVP event, provided by USA Today Sports Images, will be available HERE

The first player signed in NYCFC history, Villa lived up to his billing in 2016 as the club went 11-3-3 in matches where he scored. The 2016 Golden Boot runner-up, Villa finished the regular season in tremendous form, scoring six goals and providing two assists in his last four appearances, helping NYCFC win three of four en route to clinching the club's first ever postseason berth. Villa recorded six multi-goal games this year, second most league-wide.

Throughout the 2016 season, Villa sustained his dangerous reputation in front of goal with 22 of his regular season tallies coming from inside the area, five of which were converted from the penalty spot. Villa also recorded the highest number of shots on goal league-wide (68) and finished second in both shots (166) and goals per 90 minutes average (.72) among players who played in more than 25 regular season games in 2016.

Spain's all-time leading goal scorer, Villa, along with Bradley Wright-Phillips, has been the league's most prolific striker over the past two seasons with a combined 41 goals (2015-16).

Since 1996, the MLS MVP award has been presented annually to the individual deemed most valuable to his club by players, management and the media. Below is a breakdown of the voting results.

Landon Donovan MLS MVP Player Vote % Media Vote % Club Vote % Average %

David Villa (NYCFC) 27.63% 22.43% 27.63% 25.90%

Bradley Wright-Phillips (NYRB) 18.42% 22.43% 17.11% 19.32%

Sacha Kljestan (NYRB) 19.74% 18.69% 14.47% 17.63%

Sebastian Giovinco (TOR) 10.53% 22.43% 15.79% 16.25%

Ignacio Piatti (MTL) 9.21% 7.48% 6.41% 7.70%

All-Time MLS Most Valuable Players:

2016: David Villa - New York City FC

2015: Sebastian Giovinco - Toronto FC

2014: Robbie Keane - LA Galaxy

2013: Mike Magee - Chicago Fire

2012: Chris Wondolowski - San Jose Earthquakes

2011: Dwayne De Rosario - D.C. United

2010: David Ferreira - FC Dallas

2009: Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy

2008: Guillermo Barros Schelotto - Columbus Crew

2007: Luciano Emilio - D.C. United

2006: Christian Gómez - D.C. United

2005: Taylor Twellman - New England Revolution

2004: Amado Guevara - MetroStars

2003: Preki - Kansas City Wizards

2002: Carlos Ruiz - LA Galaxy

2001: Alex Pineda Chacón - Miami Fusion

2000: Tony Meola - Kansas City Wizards

1999: Jason Kreis - Dallas Burn

1998: Marco Etcheverry - D.C. United

1997: Preki - Kansas City Wizards

1996: Carlos Valderrama - Tampa Bay Mutiny

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