The Argentine has been as excellent as ever in his later years, but his presence and performance has yet to push MLS into the US mainstream
Which brings us to the more important question: So what if Messi is tearing up MLS – does anyone actually give a crud?
Be honest.
Most people will be vaguely unsurprised by this news. You’re aware that the greatest soccer player of all time is winding down his career in North America, playing for whichever one has those pink kits that dot the planet like a beautiful toxic slime mold. Context-free highlights drift past the periphery of your consciousness, floating on the algorithm, and you heard a rumor the kids have started calling Messi “braceman” because he scores two goals every game. Which, yeah, of course he does. He’s Messi.
Even among MLS diehards, Messi’s campaign seems oddly underappreciated. He won the Golden Boot and tied for most assists despite missing a quarter of the season, setting new records for non-penalty goals and goal contributions along the way. According to American Soccer Analysis’s advanced goals added metric, he added twice as much value over the average player as second-place Denis Bouanga and left Carlos Vela’s 2019, the previous best MLS campaign ever, in the dust. In spite of it all, chatter around the league as recently as last month was that maybe, just maybe, San Diego’s Anders Dreyer or Cincinnati’s Evander would be a more deserving MVP.
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