Lionel Messi is one of 5 finalists for MLS MVP. Here’s the full list of award candidates

Lionel Messi is one step closer to his first MLS MVP award, but he’ll have to fend off four others, including his teammate, for the league’s top individual honor.

Messi was named one of five MVP finalists on Thursday, along with his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez, the Columbus Crew’s Cucho Hernandez, Portland’s Evander and D.C. United’s Christian Benteke.

Messi led MLS with 36 total contributions, but the heated argument in the case against him is he played in just 19 of Inter Miami’s 34 games this season due to a right ankle injury that sidelined him for two months.

“I did say before you’re not a serious person if you vote for Messi. I take that back a little bit,” Apple TV analyst Sacha Kljestan said with a smile last Saturday, advocating for Cincinnati’s Lucho Acosta to win the award for the second straight year.

“Lionel Messi is the best player in Major League Soccer by far – by far. But he still was not there for more than half the season for the Supporters’ Shield-winning team, and the team was just as good without him.

“So, he’s not my MVP. But I kinda expect him to win it at this point.”

Messi and Suarez became the first teammates in MLS history to each score 20 goals in a season, helping the club win its first Supporters’ Shield title and set the league record with 74 points.

Suarez played a key role in Inter Miami’s success during Messi’s absence with seven of his 20 goals coming in games without his former Barcelona running mate.

Hernandez had 19 goals and 14 assists for the Crew, the reigning MLS champions who own the No. 2 seed behind Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Benteke was the MLS Golden Boot winner with 23 goals for D.C. United, which was eliminated from the postseason on Decision Day last week.

Evander fueled Portland’s trip to the postseason as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference with 15 goals and 19 assists, co-leading MLS with last year’s MVP Lucho Acosta of Cincinnati.

Portland was eliminated after a 5-0 loss to Vancouver in the Western Conference Wild Card game on Wednesday night.

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To add perspective: Only Benteke (23) scored more goals than Messi.

Only Evander and Acosta had more assists (19), three more than Messi. They each played at least 10-13 more games than Messi this season.

Apple TV’s Brad Wright-Phillips said he was still going to vote for Evander, until he took another look at Messi’s season statistics – where Messi did all his damage in just 1,485 minutes this year (Players must play 1,000 minutes to qualify for MVP).

“Can you ask me again if I’m going to change my mind?” Wright-Phillips said. “Messi is MVP. Those numbers are stupid. Jesus.”

Apple TV’s Andrew Wiebe said he was voting for Hernandez, but added:

“I will say after watching that match and the brilliance that is Messi, if and when he wins the MVP award, it will not be a miscarriage of justice,” Wiebe said.

“It will not be an issue I have throughout the annals of time in MLS history. It will be Messi as an MVP, and it will be just fine.”

Inter Miami’s Tata Martino, Columbus Crew’s Wilfried Nancy and Colorado Rapids’ Chris Armas are finalists for Sigi Schimd MLS Coach of the Year.

Inter Miami leads the MLS with six finalists for league awards, including Suarez as MLS Newcomer of the Year, Jordi Alba as a Defender of the Year finalist, and Diego Gomez for Young Player of the Year.

Media, club technical staff and active MLS players (unable to vote for their own team’s nominees) account for 33.3% of the total votes for league awards. The MVP award will be announced by the end of November, before the Dec. 7 MLS Cup final.

Here are the finalists for MLS season awards:

Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalists

Christian Benteke (D.C. United)
Evander (Portland Timbers)
Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF)

Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year finalists

Chris Armas (Colorado Rapids)
Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino (Inter Miami CF)
Wilfried Nancy (Columbus Crew)

Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award finalists

Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution)
Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew)
Ilie Sánchez (LAFC)

MLS Comeback Player of the Year finalists

Robin Lod (Minnesota United FC)

MLS Defender of the Year finalists

Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF)
Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew)
Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders FC)

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year finalists

Kristijan Kahlina (Charlotte FC)
Hugo Lloris (LAFC)
Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)

MLS Newcomer of the Year finalists

Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati)
Gabriel Pec (LA Galaxy)
Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF)

MLS Young Player of the Year Finalists

Diego Gómez (Inter Miami CF)
Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake)
Cristian Olivera (LAFC)