Lionel Messi named finalist for third straight MLS MVP award

FILE PHOTO: Lionel Messi had a league-best 26 ‌goals during the regular season, with 17 assists that ranked second.  | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Major League Soccer revealed its finalists on Thursday for eight individual season-ending awards, including five finalists for the Landon ​Donovan MVP Award that include the favourite in Lionel Messi and ‌17-year-old sensation Cavan Sullivan.

Messi’s stellar play for Inter Miami ​earned him the league’s MVP trophy in each ⁠of the past two seasons, with Sullivan making his mark during a breakout season for the Philadelphia Union.

Messi had a league-best 26 ‌goals during the regular season, with 17 assists that ranked second. The other three players vying ‌for MVP honors are Evander of FC Cincinnati, Guilherme ‌of ⁠the Houston Dynamo and Hany Mukhtar of Nashville SC.

Sigi ⁠Schmid Coach of the Year candidates include B.J. Callaghan of Nashville, which won the Supporters’ Shield by going 23-3-8 for 77 points. Yoann ​Damet of St. Louis City ‌and Jesper Sorensen of the Vancouver Whitecaps are also up for the award.

The Defender of the Year Award category is dominated by Nashville players with teammates Andy Najar, Jeisson ‌Palacios and Maxwell Woledzi all vying for the honour.

Nashville’s ​Brian Schwake is up for the Goalkeeper of the Year Award with Roman Burki of St. ⁠Louis City and Matt Turner of the New England Revolution.

Comeback Player of the Year is down to Ryan Gauld ‌of the Whitecaps, Nick Hagglund of Cincinnati and Eduard Lowen of the San Jose Earthquakes.

Newcomer of the Year candidates are Guilherme, Antoine Griezmann of Orlando City and Andre Luiz of Sporting Kansas City.

Sullivan is a finalist for Young Player of the Year after scoring nine goals with 14 ‌assists in 29 games (21 starts) for the Union, while Julian Hall ​and Adri Mehmeti of the New York Red Bulls also are finalists.

Humanitarian of the Year candidates include ⁠Paul Arriola (Seattle Sounders), Andrew Farrell (Revolution), Telasco Segovia (Inter Miami), Mason Stajduhar (Real ⁠Salt Lake) and Brad Stuver (Austin FC).

Winners in all eight categories will be revealed throughout the upcoming playoffs. The ‌MLS Best XI will also be revealed at a later date, while voting for Goal of the Year ​and Save of the Year are taking place online at mlssoccer.com through Monday.