Ballon d’Or Winner, Messi Beaten To MLS Newcomer Of The Year Award

Lionel Messi, the latest addition to Inter Miami, missed out on the MLS 2023 Newcomer of the Year award, despite his recent Ballon d’Or triumph.

Ultimately, the MLS accolade went to Giorgos Giakoumakis, Atlanta United’s Greek centre-forward, who has made a remarkable impact as a goal scorer.
While Lionel Messi is widely recognized as one of football’s all-time greats, as evidenced by his eight Ballon d’Or victories, he secured second place in the vote to determine the best signing of the 2023 MLS season.

Even though Lionel Messi is an iconic and highly respected figure in global football, his arrival in Major League Soccer did not secure him the title of Signing of the Year, nor did it secure Inter Miami a spot in the playoffs.

Giorgos Giakoumakis

Giakoumakis made a lasting impression with his performance and emerged as the winner of the award, underscoring that MLS values not only a player’s reputation and name but also their influence on the league.

Despite his longstanding prominence in world football, this time, the award eluded him. Giakoumakis outperformed Messi in this regard.

Messi announced his arrival in MLS on June 7 and played a pivotal role in Inter Miami’s victory in the Leagues Cup, scoring ten goals in seven matches. His team also reached the final of the US Open Cup but couldn’t secure the title. In league matches, he participated in only six games, amassing 372 minutes of play and scoring one goal.

In contrast, Giakoumakis, designated as a Franchise Player, joined Atlanta United on February 8, 2023, and netted 17 goals in the league, over a span of 1,792 minutes on the field. His average of 0.85 goals per game was the highest among all players with a minimum of 1,500 minutes played in the regular season. He achieved the milestone of 10 goals in just 766 minutes, making him the second-fastest player to reach this mark.
Throughout the season, players, clubs, and the media voted for the Greek international to claim the award with an average of 45.78 percent of the votes, surpassing Messi, who accumulated 27.28 percent of the votes, and Eduard Lowen (St. Louis City), with 15.44 percent.

Giakoumakis has become the second consecutive Atlanta United player to secure this award, following Thiago Almada’s win in 2022. Atlanta United is the first club to have back-to-back honorees and the second to have three different players win the award, alongside the Seattle Sounders, who had Miguel Almiron as the recipient in 2017.