Lionel Messi remains the favorite in the mls standings MVP race if he plays enough minutes, and the gap has not closed with MLS heading toward a break before the World Cup. Most teams are already into double-digit games, but three more matchweeks still sit between the league and that pause.
Messi and the chase
Messi is still the clear front-runner, with the case for a third straight MVP built on both output and availability. Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar and Timo Werner are the main challengers building real cases of their own as the season reaches a point where every strong run gets louder.
Nashville SC have helped push that race forward. Their flying start has given Surridge and Mukhtar a platform to stay in the conversation, while Timo Werner remains part of the group trying to make the debate more than a one-player race.
Dreyer, Cuypers and Son
Anders Dreyer has 10 goal contributions, a number that keeps him in the mix even as the headline battle centers on Messi. Hugo Cuypers is also a legit Golden Boot contender, and that scoring race overlaps with the MVP picture because the league has reached a stage where production is starting to sort itself out.
Son Heung-Min has seven assists in 685 minutes, while LAFC sit third in the West. That combination of minutes and output gives his case a different shape from the pure scoring chase, and it keeps LAFC in the broader MVP conversation through the early stretch of the season.
NYCFC and FC Dallas
Other teams have added names to the list. Maxi Moralez has six assists, Nico Fernandez has eight goals in MLS alone, and those numbers keep NYCFC in the frame through the opening months.
The race is still early, but it is no longer one name on a page. With most teams already into double-digit games and only three more matchweeks before the World Cup break, Messi remains the leader and the rest of the field has a short runway to cut into that edge.
