Online Reporter
Superstar Lionel Messi, the MLS Golden Boot winner and MLS MVP favorite, leads an MLS Best XI list this season that features representatives from nine clubs.
With 29 goals and 19 assists, the Inter Miami forward was one goal contribution shy of the league-record 49 set by Carlos Vela in 2019 and could be the first back-to-back MVP in league history.
Argentina’s Messi is joined on the list, announced by MLS on Wednesday, by players from seven different countries, including six players who are honoured on the list for the first time.
The Philadelphia Union, with defenders Jakob Glesnes and Kai Wagner, and the Vancouver Whitecaps, with defender Tristan Blackmon and midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, were the only teams with more than one member.
The Best XI is determined annually by the media, MLS players and MLS club technical staff members.
The 2025 MLS Best XI:
Forwards: Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
Midfielders: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Evander (FC Cincinnati), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
Defenders: Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Jakob Glesnes (Philadelphia Union), Kai Wagner (Philadelphia Union)
Goalkeeper: Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United FC).
Meanwhile, Major League Soccer suspended Inter Miami star forward Luis Suarez for tomorrow’s key playoff match against Nashville SC.
Suarez received the one-match suspension from the MLS Disciplinary Committee for an off-ball incident in Game 2 of the first-round series. Suarez kicked at Nashville defender Andy Najar in the 71st minute of the match, which Nashville won 2-1.
Game 3 of the best-of-three series is tomorrow.
There was no foul called or card issued on the play during the match. However, the MLS Disciplinary Committee can step in post-match to levy fines and suspensions under certain circumstances, including in the case of Game 2 when a referee sees an incident and does not issue a card.
Suarez, a 38-year-old Uruguayan who once starred for Liverpool and Barcelona, has a history of bad behaviour on the field. Three times he has been suspended for biting opponents, and he once was suspended for racial abuse, though he denied the allegation.
He served a three-match suspension by MLS in September for spitting on a member of the Seattle Sounders staff following the Leagues Cup final on August 31, actions that also garnered him a six-match ban from future Leagues Cup tournaments.
Nashville and Inter Miami face off Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale, with Inter Miami looking to avoid a first-round playoff loss for the second straight season. – Reuters
Mathew Masinge