Argentine football legend Lionel Messi is among the final candidates for the 2026 MLS Player of the Year award, which puts him on the cusp of an unprecedented achievement by winning the award for the third season in a row.
The Inter Miami captain was crowned with the award in 2024 and 2025, and became the second player to win it twice after Predrag Radosavljevic, known as “Bricky,” who won it in 1997 and 2003.
Messi (39 years old) topped the list of regular season scorers with 26 goals in 31 matches with Miami, which will seek to win its second consecutive league title when the playoffs begin next week.
The other candidates for the award are German playmaker Hani Mokhtar from Nashville SC, Brazilians Evander from FC Cincinnati and Gerima from Houston Dynamo, and American Cavan Sullivan from Philadelphia Union, the surprise of the season, who is only 17 years old.
Sullivan, who scored nine goals in 29 matches, is also considered a candidate for the Best Young Player award, along with his compatriot Julian Hull and Albanian-born Adre Mohammadi from the New York Red Bulls.
Harry Kane became the England national team's most capped player after playing his 126th match on Thursday with the start of his country's match against Croatia at Wembley Stadium in London in the fifth round of the third group competitions within the first level of the European Nations League competition.
Kane (33 years old), who is playing his first international match since winning the Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world this year, surpassed the number he shared with former goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
A huge banner was raised before the start of the match bearing a picture of Kane and the phrase “The Best in England.”
The German coach of the England national team, Thomas Tuchel, told ITV: “There is no secret. It's character, talent, hard work, dedication and focus. Complete package.
He added: “He is usually not the loudest voice in the dressing room, but he is still our leader, and he still carries the captaincy.”
Last month, the German Bayern Munich striker was crowned the best footballer in the world, ahead of Frenchman Kylian Mbappe and Spaniard Lamine Yamal, and became the first Englishman to achieve this achievement in 25 years.
The former Tottenham player played his first international match in 2015, and scored a record 91 goals with the England national team, including six goals in the first four matches of his campaign in the European Nations League this season.
Harry Kane, captain of the England national team, celebrated winning the Ballon d'Or award and breaking the record for the number of international matches with his country, after he went out with his team to Wembley Stadium before facing Croatia in the European Nations League.
Kane, who became the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen won it in 2001, reached the 126th international match to become the player who played the most international matches with the England national team, surpassing the record of the famous goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who played 125 international matches.
Kane equaled Shilton's record against the Czechs last month in the European Nations League, and he is also the all-time top scorer for the English national team with 91 goals.
Kane received cheers from the crowds gathered at Wembley Stadium, and was honored by Prince William, the British Crown Prince, as well as Peter Shilton, the former goalkeeper of the England national team, who held the previous record of 125 international matches.
Croatian star Luka Modric, who was on the bench with his team, was also keen to honor Harry Kane before the kick-off whistle at Wembley Stadium in the fifth round of the European Nations League.
