The MVP Power Rankings are back. That’s right, it’s an even more subjective rankings column than the regular Power Rankings. A place where voters not only get to arbitrarily define “power,” but “most valuable” too.
Each month of the season, we check in with MLS talent, staff, writers and editors to get their thoughts on the 2024 Landon Donovan MLS MVP race so far.
Ten ballots were cast for this one. A first-place vote received 10 points, a second-place vote received five points, a third-place vote received three points, a fourth-place vote received two points and a fifth-place vote received one point. Seven players received at least one point.
Ryan Gauld - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2 points)
Gauld has been very, very good and has nine goals and seven assists while putting in excellent defensive work as a No. 10 for an ok Vancouver team. Has he been the best player in MLS? No. But this is democracy in action.
Riqui Puig - LA Galaxy (2 points)
Ok, now we’re talking. Let’s do our monthly check-in on Puig’s FBref chart:
Yep. Still art.
Now, I do have to give some credit to Gauld. He has as many goal contributions (16) as Puig this season. Gauld’s xG and xA are both higher than Puig's. And Puig certainly isn’t interested in anything defensive. But Puig is pulling all the strings for one of the most dynamic attacks in the league. Like, all the strings.
When he’s been on the field for the Galaxy, he’s taken 14.4% of LA’s touches. That’s the highest mark in the league by far. The next closest player, CF Montréal’s Joel Waterman, takes 12.2% of his team’s touches. If you shrink the field to just the middle and final third of the pitch, Puig shoots up to 18.1%. New England's Carles Gil is the closest player at 16.3% of his team’s touches in the middle and final third.
Puig is making everything happen for a Galaxy side chasing the Supporters’ Shield.
The list of starters with a higher rate of direct goal contributions per 90 is Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez.
The Crew have played fewer games than anyone this year for Concacaf Champions Cup reasons, and Cucho has only started 14 of them for other reasons. But when he’s been in, he’s been just as outstanding as you’d expect.
In 1,236 minutes, he’s tallied 11 goals and seven assists as he’s helped push the defending MLS Cup winners back into Supporters’ Shield contention. He may end up bettering his 16-goal, 11-assist output from 2023.
That might not ultimately be enough for an MVP award this year, but it’s still incredibly impressive from the Colombian star.
Bouanga is right back where he was last month.
However, breaking into the top three this year is as tough as it's ever been. Bouanga’s 14 goals and eight primary assists aren’t even enough to get him there yet. But he’s the best player on a Supporters’ Shield contender and he’s tied with Lionel Messi and Chicho Arango for direct goal contributions with 22. And the underlying numbers suggest he could jump out in front of them by the end of the year.
Bouanga is currently averaging 0.91 non-penalty xG+xA per 90. Only Messi’s underlying numbers are better and Bouanga has made 10 more starts. He’s also about to get a new target in attack when Olivier Giroud joins the fold. There’s a decent chance he goes on an absolute tear down the stretch and leads LAFC to a second Supporters’ Shield title in three years.
The most productive player on the best team seems like a decent recipe for MVP votes, right?
Look, the numbers are absurd – all of them. Name a per-90 stat in attack and he probably leads it. I mean, Messi's averaging nearly two direct goal contributions every 90 minutes. Add in his three secondary assists and he’s averaging 2.17 goal contributions per 90. It’s clear he’s the best player in the league and it’s not close.
HOWEVER. He’s only played in 12 of Inter Miami’s 23 games. He’s only made 11 starts. He’s only been on the field for 1,035 of the 2,070 minutes the Herons have played this season. How can you be “most valuable” when you’re contributing in around half of the team’s minutes?
By the time he returns from Copa América, Miami will only have nine regular-season games left. If he starts all of them – not a given at all – he’ll have started in 20 of their 34 matches. Is that going to be enough to be voted “most valuable?”
I mean, yeah, probably. Don’t overthink it. It’s Messi. Still, it’s fun to think about. And maybe voters will surprise us and lean towards someone who’s contributed in a more long-term sense like…
Arango is your Golden Boot presented by Audi leader with 17 goals this season. The next closest player has 14. He’s been incredibly important to RSL’s run to Supporters’ Shield contention. He’s even found a way to deliver five primary assists and six secondary assists while he’s been at it. His 28 total goal contributions in 20 starts are the most in MLS this season.
But what might have Arango in second place now is it doesn’t feel like he's carrying RSL on his back anymore. When he finished first last month in the MVP Power Rankings, he had contributed to 69% of RSL’s goals. Since then, he’s only scored once and picked up two assists. He’s now contributed to a measly 58% of RSL’s 48 goals…
Ok, yeah, so that’s still insane. But he has slowed down a little and Andrés Gómez and Diego Luna’s rises to stardom have made it feel like he has a little help. That makes RSL a better and more dangerous team, but it does hurt Arango’s MVP candidacy. Just a little bit anyway. Enough to let the next guy take the lead. Again.
Lucho's back on top. And he’s out here being spiteful to people.
Acosta is up to 10 goals and a hilarious 15 primary assists. If you add his two secondary assists, he has 27 goal contributions on the year, the second-best mark in the league. That has him outdoing Chicho when it comes to our simplified measure of “carrying the team on his back.” Acosta has contributed to 64% of Cincinnati’s goals this season.
But it’s not just goal contributions. He’s in total control of Cincy’s attack. Acosta takes 15.8% of Cincy’s touches in the middle and final third. That’s the third-highest mark in the league.
Oh, and did we mention he’s outperforming last year’s MVP season? He only needs four more goal contributions to match his 2023 output. He might get that in the next game based on how things are going.
We’re watching a career year from one of the best players in MLS history. And that might be enough to earn him a second straight MVP award and FC Cincinnati a second straight Supporters’ Shield.
