Inter Miami star Lionel Messi is among the 34 nominees for MLS's MVP award for the 2024 season.

Teammate Luis Suárez also made the cut as Miami claimed the Supporters' Shield with 71 points through 33 matches.

Voting for the league's annual awards is split evenly between players, coaches and select members of the media.

While Messi is far and away the biggest star—and perhaps even the brightest talent even at 37—his MVP candidacy is undercut by the fact he appeared in just 18 MLS matches this season. He had an eye-popping 17 goals and 15 assists in those fixtures, but missing almost half of your team's games is tough to overcome from an awards perspective.

Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell nonetheless made the argument for the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Beyond the impact he had directly on the pitch, his presence transformed the image of Inter Miami and made the club attractive to other stars such as Suárez and a coach as experienced as Gerardo Martino. Remove Messi from the equation and there's no way Miami goes from 34 points and a 27th-place finish to the Supporters Shield in just one season.

Bushnell argued Messi's "god-like stature made Inter Miami a destination for players whom most MLS clubs couldn't attract or afford."

Riqui Puig had 13 goals and 15 assists with the Los Angeles Galaxy, who secured the top seed in the Western Conference. Cucho Hernández's 19 goals are tied for second-most in the league and he was the attacking fulcrum for the Columbus Crew. Los Angeles FC's Denis Bouanga matched Cucho's 19 goals, and that accounts for a third of his club's total output.

Messi has the stats to line up favorably against any other MVP contender and made a much larger impact on a per-match basis. Combine that with Miami's collective success and he's probably the heavy favorite at this stage.