Inter Miami CF Forward Lionel Messi Named MLS Player of the Month for May 2025

Argentine attacker led league with 11 goal contributions en route to his third career Player of the Month award

NEW YORK (Thursday, June 5, 2025) – Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi was voted the MLS Player of the Month for the month of May 2025.

The reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP caught fire in May, scoring seven goals and adding four assists to lead the league in goal contributions. After a winless streak in the middle of the month, Miami ended May undefeated in its last three matches, powered by stellar showings from Messi.

The legendary Argentine attacker took home back-to-back Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra honors to end the month. In Matchday 16, Messi’s two goals and assist fueled the Herons’ 4-2 win against CF Montréal, which snapped a six-game winless streak in all competitions. The performance also made Messi the first player in club history with 50 goal contributions in the regular season, as he now sits on 31 goals and 24 assists in just 38 games.

Last Saturday, Messi put on a master class in a 5-1 rout of Eastern Conference contender, the Columbus Crew, contributing to every Herons goal as he tallied twice and added three assists. He became just the second player in league history to record multiple games with at least five goal contributions after a one goal and five assist performance last season vs. the New York Red Bulls. He’s also only the third player in MLS history to score two goals and notch three assists in a single game.

Messi and Miami are heating up at the right time as the Herons prepare to take on the world’s best teams at the newly-expanded FIFA Club World Cup, set for June 14 to July 13 across the United States. Miami will play in the tournament’s opening match against Al Ahly (Egypt) at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida on Saturday, June 14 (8 p.m. ET, DAZN.com). Then, the Herons continue Group A play on Thursday, June 19 vs. Porto (Portugal) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (3 p.m. ET, DAZN.com) before wrapping up the group stage on Monday, June 23 vs. Palmeiras (Brazil) back at Hard Rock Stadium (9 p.m. ET, DAZN.com)

This May marks Messi’s third Player of the Month award since joining MLS in July 2023, tied for the sixth-most honors in league history. He previously won in April 2024 after leading the league in goal contributions and guiding the Herons to an undefeated record as well as in October 2024 after clinching the Supporters’ Shield and MLS points record with Inter Miami.

MLS Player of the Month is voted upon by a panel of select national media members in a process conducted by MLS Communications.