With an exciting game between LAFC and the New York Red Bulls taking place in the west, another Saturday night of Major League Soccer activity came to an end. Max Bretos and Mariano Trujillo of Apple TV made predictions on who would earn the MVP prize this season.
Both of them decided that Cristian Arango would lose for the time being.
Earlier on Saturday, Cristian Arango gave Real Salt Lake a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Fire by scoring his seventh and eighth goals of the season, which leads the MLS. For the time being, that meant that the Colombian was the only player in the MLS Golden Boot race to rank higher than Lionel Messi. And it put his club where few predicted at the start of the season: second in the Western Conference rankings, at least until Sunday’s match against the LA Galaxy.
Furthermore, seasoned league observers who have a solid understanding of what an MLS MVP season usually entails have concurred with Bretos and Trujillo’s sentiments.
There is almost no possibility that this will be an ordinary competition for MLS MVP.
⚽️ Messi's brace, including his first penalty goal in 16 months, takes him to 2nd in the MLS scoring charts, just 1 behind leader Cristian Arango ✨
— MessivsRonaldo.app (@mvsrapp) April 21, 2024
🥇 C Arango 8⃣⚽️
🥈 L Messi 7⃣⚽️📈
🥉 L Suarez 6⃣⚽️
Messi has missed 4 of Miami's 10 league games this season! pic.twitter.com/um0XbPNAJ5
If Cristian Arango or any other player other than Messi—who just won his seventh Ballon d’Or as the World’s greatest player in 2023—is to win the league’s title, it will have to accomplish it while battling a very difficult and distinct campaign. Due to the fact that MLS-produced content is more widely available than ever before while independent coverage of the league is at an all-time low. Naturally, the latter group is focused on helping Messi become the biggest MLS success story ever.
Of course, Messi also deserves to be mentioned as the MVP. He is producing at a rate far higher than even Carlos Vela did during a 2019 season that is generally considered to be the greatest individual MLS season of all time, with seven goals and six assists through just six MLS games. Messi’s season total of 20 goals and 20 assists looks very possible, especially taking into consideration his anticipated absences for the Copa America and other national team obligations. This sort of play would make winning the award almost a formality.
Nevertheless, when you take into account how much of the stuff that the league produces and how much of it is geared toward promoting Messi’s profile in the Major League Soccer, it becomes quite peculiar for people who decide on league awards to consume.
For instance, the main article on the MLS official website (MLSsoccer.com) on Sunday morning, East Coast time, focused on Messi’s remarkable run of goals and assists. If you swung the screen slightly downwards, you’ll see a whole area of information dedicated to the star that included links to a compilation of his three finest league performances to date (before Saturday).
A considerably smaller thumbnail featuring Cristian Arrango and his MVP candidacy can be seen to the right of Messi’s main narrative. He doesn’t say anything else.
On the MLS Season Pass webpage, which features a “Best of Chicho Arango” category showcasing some of the Colombian’s most notable recent efforts, the balance is just somewhat more even. Naturally, the part comes right below the one titled “All Eyes on Messi (en Espanol) section,” which is below a section with links to a number of the most important moments from Messi and Miami’s 3-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday.
Nothing in this is evil or even ill-advised. MLS would be failing in its primary responsibility if it weren’t making every effort that is humanly feasible and appropriate to highlight information regarding Messi, as this space has also done in recent months. The fact that a side effect is unfairly favoring a number of other outstanding MLS players who could merit greater recognition is regrettable.
Given what Messi can provide to the league over the course of his final 2.5 years in the Major League Soccer, perhaps it justifies the price. However, it may take years or perhaps decades before we find out if that is the case.
While it’s hoped that Messi’s rising tide would lift all boats, there are many players for whom this won’t be the case in the near future. Keep that in mind in the meanwhile. In fact, it may be worse for the players who are experiencing their finest seasons—the once-in-a-career players whom Cristian Arango may be developing.
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