Lionel Messi has played just two full regular-season Major League Soccer games in his storied career.

That couldn't keep him off the shortlist of nominees for league MVP, which was announced by the MLS Thursday.

Messi is one of 30 players nominated to win the Landon Donovan MLS MVP honor. Votes will be cast by players, coaches, general managers and media members from October 10 to October 23.

Messi's former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets was also nominated for the award.

In four regular-season appearances and three starts for Inter Miami, Messi recorded one goal and two assists. He has been sidelined by injury for the team's last four games.

Messi's best performances with Inter Miami so far have come during tournament play.

The Argentinian star scored in seven consecutive Leagues Cup matches in July and August, racking up 10 goals to help lead the club to its first tournament victory in franchise history.

Messi then appeared in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match on August 23, where he contributed two assists to an Inter Miami win.

All of that action added up to eight contests in 33 days— and impacted 36-year-old Messi's ability to join Inter Miami during the regular season.

Three days after the U.S. Open Cup semifinal, Messi made his MLS debut off the bench in an August 26 game against the New York Red Bulls and helped Inter Miami polish off a 2-0 shutout with an 89th-minute highlight-reel goal.

In his next regular-season appearance four days later, Messi started, but appeared "visibly exhausted," per Inter Miami reporter Franco Panizo. He requested a substitution from the game.

A combination of this workload, in addition to an injury stemming from problems with old scar tissue and his participation in Argentina's World Cup qualifiers, has limited Messi since to playing in just two of Miami's last seven matches.

Despite his limited availability in the MLS regular season so far, Messi's impact on the league has been undeniable. Inter Miami's 2024 tickets prices now rank as the most expensive season passes in world soccer, and Messi's No. 10 was the best-selling jersey in the MLS this season.

Messi's cultural impact on the league could have contributed to his MVP nomination Thursday more than his impact on the field so far.