Son Heung-min beats Messi and MLS MVP 'All-in-one prospects'... 39 Attack Points Projection Chart

*This content was translated by AI.

• U.S. Athletic Expert Panel Expected

MLS experts have unanimously predicted that Son Heung-min (34, Los Angeles FC), ahead of the first full season of the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS), will beat Lionel Messi (39, Inter Miami) to be named the MLS Most Valuable Player (MVP) after the end of the season. The estimated number of offensive points for the season, including goals and help, reached a maximum of 39, and some predicted Son Heung-min's MLS top scorer in the process.

The Athletic, a U.S. sports media outlet, unveiled the season prospects of expert panels such as Tom Bogert, Henry Bushnell, Felipe Cardenas and Paul Tenorio on the 20th (Korea time) ahead of the opening of the 2026 season MLS. MLS of the new season will kick off at 11:30 a.m. on the 22nd through the opening match between LAFC and Inter Miami at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles (LA). It is Son Heung-min and Messi's first MLS face-off and the starting point of Son Heung-min's first full-time MLS season.

The most noticeable thing was the expectation of the MLS MVP this season. Messi was the MVP for the last two consecutive seasons. However, all four MLS experts predicted Son Heung-min to win the MVP award with "all consensus." Bogert said, "MVP competition will be fierce. I think a player other than Messi will win this year, and among them, I expect Son Heung-min." Cardenas said, "Son Heung-min will win his first MVP of the 2026 season. Son Heung-min is the only player who can match Messi in scoring and star quality, he added. The opinions of the other two experts were not different.

As MLS' best star, opinions on Son Heung-min's specific expected performance this season were exchanged. In particular, Bushnell said, "Son Heung-min could beat Messi and win the Golden Boot (scoring king). "I expect Son to have 39 offensive points (goals + assists) this season." The number of Messi's attack points expected by Bushnell was 38, with Son Heung-min having one more.

"Son Heung-min and Dnie Vuanga (LAFC) will be the top contenders for the Golden Boot competition with Messi," Bogert said. As he scored nine goals and three assists in 10 regular league games last year, it is not unreasonable to expect Son Heung-min to score more than 22 goals and 10 assists this season, he stressed. Cardenas said, "Korean superstar (Son Heung-min) is ready for a special year. He expected to score 20 goals and 7 assists this season, and Tenorio predicted a total of 36 offensive points.

However, Son Heung-min's expectation of such a performance did not lead to the possibility of his team LAFC winning. Only one expert each picked LAFC as a team expected to play in the MLS regular league and the MLS Cup (playoff). Inter Miami's "all votes," which includes Messi, not LAFC, also came out as a candidate for the championship of the North-China-American Caribbean Football Federation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup, which determines the best club in North and Central America.

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*This content was translated by AI.