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<\/p>\nFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Best player. Best team. Inter Miami\u2019s Lionel Messi is the unquestioned force in Major League Soccer right now, on a run like nobody else the league has ever seen.<\/p>\n
The 38-year-old Argentine star \u2014 and captain of the MLS Cup champions \u2014 has become the first back-to-back MVP in MLS history, getting announced Tuesday as this year\u2019s winner of the league\u2019s top individual honor.<\/p>\n
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Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi hoists the trophy alongside teammates after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final soccer match, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n
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Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, centre, carries the trophy to celebrate with his teammates after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps during the MLS Cup final soccer match, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n
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Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi arrives for an MLS Eastern Conference final soccer match against New York FC, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell)<\/p>\n
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David Beckham poses with the MLS Cup trophy with Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s another first for Messi in what seems like a never-ending list of his career accomplishments and was widely expected, almost assumed after he had a league-best 29 goals along with 19 assists during the regular season.<\/p>\n
He also becomes just the second two-time MVP the league has ever seen, joining Preki, the winner of the award in 1997 and 2003. The other winners are all one-time MVP recipients.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was fantastic the whole season, with the numbers and also with the commitment,\u201d Inter Miami coach and longtime Messi teammate Javier Mascherano said.<\/p>\n
Messi played in barely half of Inter Miami\u2019s regular-season games in 2024, and that sparked some doubt as to whether he deserved to win the MVP award.<\/p>\n
He won a close vote last year. This year, there was no debate.<\/p>\n
Messi got 70.4% of the total vote \u2014 the biggest winning total since Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco in 2015. San Diego\u2019s Anders Dreyer was second with 11.2%, followed by LAFC\u2019s Denis Bouanga (7.3%), Cincinnati\u2019s Evander (4.8%) and Nashville\u2019s Sam Surridge (2.4%).<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s the unicorn of unicorns,\u201d MLS Commissioner Don Garber said of Messi while attending an Inter Miami match earlier in this season\u2019s playoffs. \u201cYou know, there\u2019s something about the way he\u2019s wired. He\u2019s thinking about the game like nobody else ever has. His intensity and desire to win is what makes him the greatest of all time. There are a lot of really competitive players, but he has this special sauce, this dynamic that has him so focused on doing what he needs to do to win games.\u201d<\/p>\n
This award joins dozens of other individual honors in Messi\u2019s career, including eight Ballon d\u2019Or titles, eight Pichichi trophies as La Liga\u2019s top scorer, six La Liga best player nods, three Best FIFA Men\u2019s Player awards, three UEFA Men\u2019s Player of the Year wins, two FIFA World Cup Golden Balls and no fewer than 15 selections as Argentina\u2019s best player in a given year. He\u2019s also been part of winning 47 trophies for club and country \u2014 including the 2022 World Cup \u2014 making him the most decorated player the men\u2019s game has ever seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality,\u201d Mascherano said as the regular season was ending, \u201cis that Leo clears all doubts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Messi becomes the sixth player in MLS history to win MVP and a championship in the same season. Of the previous five, only Atlanta United\u2019s Josef Martinez in 2018 won MVP, a title and the Golden Boot as the league\u2019s scoring champion all in the same year, another hat trick of sorts that Messi achieved in 2025.<\/p>\n
Indeed, there has been no one like him \u2014 in MLS for certain, and quite possibly anywhere.<\/p>\n
Forget winning back-to-back MVPs. There have been only four players in MLS history \u2014 Carlos Valderrama in 1996 and 1997, Marco Etcheverry in 1998 and 1999, David Villa in 2016 and 2017, and Martinez in 2018 and 2019 \u2014 to win the award one year and then even be a finalist for MVP in the following season.<\/p>\n
And Messi isn\u2019t planning on leaving Miami anytime soon. He\u2019s signed a three-year extension, meaning he\u2019ll be there when Inter Miami \u2014 a franchise that has seen its value explode since his arrival 2\u00bd years ago \u2014 opens its new stadium near Miami International Airport next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Lionel Messi made MLS his league of choice, it marked a turning point \u2014 not just for Inter Miami, but for our entire sport in North America,\u201d Garber said when the contract was announced. \u201cSince then, we\u2019ve witnessed something truly historic: the greatest player of all time bringing global attention to our league. We\u2019re thrilled that Leo has chosen to stay and continue his career with Inter Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phenomenon of having a back-to-back MVP has occurred in each of the other major U.S. pro sports leagues in the past plenty of times, with the most recent instance of each happening fairly recently.<\/p>\n
In Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 Shohei Ohtani and the New York Yankees\u2019 Aaron Judge have won the National League and American League MVP awards, respectively, in each of the last two seasons; Ohtani won the AL MVP award with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 as well.<\/p>\n
A\u2019ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces has won the WNBA\u2019s MVP award in each of the last two years. Denver\u2019s Nikola Jokic was the most recent NBA player to win MVP back-to-back, doing so in 2021 and 2022. Aaron Rodgers \u2014 then of Green Bay \u2014 won two straight NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, and Washington\u2019s Alex Ovechkin won the NHL\u2019s Hart Trophy in 2008 and 2009 for the most recent occurrence of someone claiming that award in consecutive years.<\/p>\n
But never in MLS \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n
AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/p>\n
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi hoists the trophy alongside teammates after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final soccer match, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, centre, carries the trophy to celebrate with his teammates after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps during the MLS Cup final soccer match, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi arrives for an MLS Eastern Conference final soccer match against New York FC, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n David Beckham poses with the MLS Cup trophy with Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A federal judge said Tuesday that the Justice Department can publicly release investigative materials from a sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidante of Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled after the Justice Department in November asked two judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits, along with investigative materials that could amount to hundreds or thousands of previously unreleased documents.<\/p>\n He’s the second judge to allow the Justice Department to publicly disclose previously secret Epstein-related records.<\/p>\n Last week, a judge in Florida granted the department\u2019s request to release transcripts from an abandoned federal grand jury investigation into Epstein in the 2000s.<\/p>\n A request to release records from Epstein\u2019s 2019 sex trafficking case is still pending.<\/p>\n The Justice Department said Congress intended the unsealing when it passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last month.<\/p>\n Here’s the latest:<\/p>\n Opponents of Missouri\u2019s new congressional map submitted thousands of petition signatures Tuesday calling for a statewide referendum on a redistricting plan backed by President Trump as part of his quest to hold on to a slim Republican majority in next year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n Organizers of the petition drive said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state\u2019s office \u2014 well more than the roughly 110,000 needed to suspend the new U.S. House districts from taking effect until a public vote can be held next year.<\/p>\n The signatures must still be formally verified by local election authorities and Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who\u2019s argued the referendum is unconstitutional. But if the signatures hold up, the referendum could create a significant obstacle for Republicans who hope the new districts could help them win a currently Democratic-held seat in the Kansas City area in the November election.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about redistricting efforts ahead of the 2026 elections<\/p>\n It\u2019s a resistance to U.S. pressure for painful concessions to Russia as he moved ahead Tuesday to rally more European support for his country.<\/p>\n \u201cUndoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly, don\u2019t want to give up anything. That\u2019s what we are fighting for,\u201d Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat late Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don\u2019t have such right,\u201d he said. \u201cAccording to Ukraine\u2019s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don\u2019t have a moral right either.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with Politico released Tuesday, President Trump again pressed Zelenskyy to accept the U.S. proposal that Ukraine cede territory to Russia, arguing that Moscow retains the \u201cupper hand\u201d in its nearly 4-year-old invasion, and that Zelenskyy\u2019s government must \u201cplay ball.\u201d<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about the Russia-Ukraine war<\/p>\n The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 7.67 million vacancies in October, close to September\u2019s 7.66 million.<\/p>\n The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which was delayed by the extended government shutdown, also showed the layoffs rose and number of people quitting their jobs \u2014 a sign of confidence in the labor market \u2014 fell in October.<\/p>\n Job openings have come down steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022, when the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. The job market has cooled partly because of the lingering effect of the high interest rates the Federal engineered in 2022 and 2023 to combat an outburst of inflation.<\/p>\n Overall, it\u2019s a puzzling time for the American economy, buffeted by President Trump\u2019s decision to reverse decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade and instead impose double-digit tariffs on imports from most of the world\u2019s countries.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about U.S. job openings<\/p>\n Except to note that her plans to file a habeas petition could be spoiled because the public release of materials \u201cwould create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial\u201d if the habeas request succeeded.<\/p>\n Lawyers for the Epstein estate took no position.<\/p>\n Former Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello said Tuesday he would challenge Republican U.S. Rep. John McGuire in the midterm elections next year.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies can\u2019t afford groceries because Republicans in Congress like John McGuire won\u2019t stand up to Trump\u2019s tariffs,\u201d Perriello said in a video launching his campaign.<\/p>\n Perriello, elected for one term in 2008, was the last Democrat to win Virginia\u2019s 5th Congressional district, which McGuire now represents. It\u2019s a district where President Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris by 12 points, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. McGuire was first elected to the district in 2024 after defeating former Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a bitter primary.<\/p>\n Virginia Democrats who control the statehouse have indicated McGuire\u2019s seat may be vulnerable if they\u2019re successful in their efforts to redraw the state\u2019s Congressional maps ahead of elections next November. The General Assembly in October endorsed a proposed a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting, though another legislative vote is needed to refer the amendment to a statewide ballot.<\/p>\n A federal judge said Tuesday the Justice Department can publicly release investigative materials from a sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled after the Justice Department in November asked two judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from Maxwell and Epstein\u2019s cases, along with investigative materials that could amount to hundreds or thousands of previously unreleased documents.<\/p>\n The ruling, in the wake of the passage last month of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, means the records could be made public within 10 days. The law requires the Justice Department provide Epstein-related records to the public in a searchable format by Dec. 19.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about the Jeffrey Epstein case<\/p>\n President Trump dismissed Pope Leo XIV\u2019s criticisms of his aggressive immigration agenda, saying he\u2019s not seen the pontiff\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n Leo recently offered strong support for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops criticizing the \u201cvilification\u201d of migrants and raids that have sown fear in immigrant communities.<\/p>\n Leo said the U.S. should use its justice system to handle immigration violations, \u201ctreating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.\u201d<\/p>\n In a Politico interview, Trump responded: \u201cYou know, they didn\u2019t like the wall. The wall turned out to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n Pope Francis, Leo\u2019s predecessor, criticized Trump\u2019s first-term immigration policies, including expanding the U.S-Mexico border wall.<\/p>\n Trump told Politico he\u2019d still be interested in meeting Leo, the first U.S.-born pontiff, and the president noted without prompting that he especially likes one of Leo\u2019s brothers who\u2019s a Trump supporter. \u201cDo you know his brother is serious MAGA?\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Questioned about how Republicans\u2019 delay on addressing Affordable Care Act subsidies might affect U.S. households\u2019 budget, Trump twice told a Politico reporter: \u201cDon\u2019t be dramatic.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the president\u2019s push back to a question about how ACA premium holders might be struggling around the holidays facing steep health insurance premium spikes if the GOP-run Congress doesn\u2019t address expiring subsidies.<\/p>\n Trump loosely explained Republicans\u2019 pitch to steer money directly to policy holders rather than subsidize premiums with tax credits that can be paid directly to insurance companies or claimed on policy holders\u2019 tax returns.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m giving them money. I want to give the money to the people to buy their own health care,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThat\u2019s a good thing, not a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahead of a planned speech on the economy, Trump is giving the U.S. market a sterling grade despite continued inflation, wealth gaps, layoffs and consumer angst.<\/p>\n \u201cA-plus,\u201d he told Politico when asked how he\u2019d rate the economy, before adding, \u201cA-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.\u201d<\/p>\n Told of concerns even from one of his supporters, Trump shifted blame to his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.<\/p>\n \u201cI inherited a mess. I inherited a total mess,\u201d he said, seemingly brushing off the idea of \u201caffordability\u201d that has become a buzz word ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is coming down,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n The latest federal analysis, using data from September, found that overall prices rose 2.8% over the previous year, up slightly from 2.7% in August. Core prices also rose 2.8% from a year earlier, a small decline from the previous month\u2019s figure of 2.9%.<\/p>\n The president says he hopes the two eldest members of the Supreme Court, who were nominated by Republican presidents, don\u2019t leave the bench.<\/p>\n He was asked during a Politico interview whether he would want Justices Clarence Thomas, 77, and Sam Alito, 75, to retire so Trump could tap their younger successors.<\/p>\n Trump dismissed the idea.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope they stay \u2019cause I think they\u2019re fantastic, OK?\u201d Trump said in the interview published Tuesday morning. \u201cBoth of those men are fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump will road-test his claims that he\u2019s tackling Americans\u2019 affordability woes at a Tuesday rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania \u2014 shifting an argument made in Oval Office appearances and social media posts to a campaign-style event.<\/p>\n The trip comes as polling consistently shows that public trust in Trump\u2019s economic leadership has faltered. Following dismal results for Republicans in last month\u2019s off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump.<\/p>\n The president\u2019s reception in the county hosting his Tuesday rally could give a signal of just how much voters trust his claims. Monroe County flipped to Trump in the 2024 election after having backed Biden in 2020, helping the Republican to win the swing state of Pennsylvania and return to the White House after a four-year hiatus.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about Trump\u2019s upcoming rally<\/p>\n The Federal Reserve faces an unusually contentious meeting this week that will test Chair Jerome Powell\u2019s ability to corral the necessary support from fellow policymakers for a third straight interest rate cut.<\/p>\n The Fed\u2019s 19-member rate-setting committee is sharply divided over whether to lower borrowing costs again. The divisions have been exacerbated by the convoluted nature of the economy: Inflation remains elevated, which would typically lead the Fed to keep its key rate unchanged, while hiring is weak and the unemployment rate has risen, which often leads to rate cuts.<\/p>\n Some economists expect three Fed officials could vote against the quarter-point cut that Powell is likely to support at the Dec. 9-10 meeting, which would be the most dissenting votes in six years. Just 12 of the 19 members vote on rate decisions. Several of the non-voting officials have also said they oppose another rate cut.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about the potential rate cut<\/p>\n The Supreme Court is considering a Republican-led drive, backed by Trump\u2019s administration, to overturn a quarter-century-old decision and erase limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president.<\/p>\n A day after the justices indicated they would overturn a 90-year-old decision limiting the president\u2019s power to fire independent agency heads, the court is revisiting a 2001 decision that upheld a provision of federal election law that is more than 50 years old.<\/p>\n Democrats are calling on the court to uphold the law.<\/p>\n The limits stem from a desire to prevent large donors from skirting caps on individual contributions to a candidate by directing unlimited sums to the party, with the understanding that the money will be spent on behalf of the candidate.<\/p>\n The Federal Election Commission and the GOP argue that the court should cast a skeptical eye on the limits, in line with recent high court decisions. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative majority has upended a variety of congressionally enacted limits on raising and spending money to influence elections.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about the decision<\/p>\n Trump said Monday that he would allow Nvidia to sell an advanced type of computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to \u201capproved customers\u201d in China.<\/p>\n There have been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips to be sold to China as it could help the country better compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities, but there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.<\/p>\n Nvidia said in a statement that it applauded Trump\u2019s decision, saying the choice would support domestic manufacturing and that by allowing the Commerce Department to vet commercial customers it would \u201cstrike a thoughtful balance\u201d on economic and national security priorities.<\/p>\n But a group of Democratic senators objected to the chip sales.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more about the sales<\/p>\n
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