Luis Suarez has joined an exclusive club in that even his teammate isn't a part of. Suarez was named Player of the Matchday for the second time this season, just five weeks into the 2024 campaign. He only joined Inter Miami this season but has already won the award twice, outdoing Messi, who has yet to reach that milestone. Suarez scored two goals in their recent 3-1 win over DC United, helping them to top the Eastern Conference. With 13 points from their first five games and 13 goals scored, Inter Miami is off to a great start. Suarez is currently tied as the top scorer in MLS with four goals. Suarez is also tied with Mark Delgado (Galaxy) with three assists atop the leaderboard of MLS, with the 36-year-old proving his versatility since joining the club. Messi has struggled with minor injuries again this season, missing two games already in the league. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is still only just behind Suarez on three goals, though, with one assist. Suarez was always expected to dominate in MLS when cutting short his contract with Brazilian side Gremio to join his former
Barcelona teammates in Miami, and could be the difference as they chase their first-ever MLS Cup crown. Suarez has also matched former striker Gonzalo Higuain, who only won Player of the Matchday on two occasions during his time at the club. Former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Leonardo Campana is currently leading the franchise with three award wins.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba make up one of the most talented teams in Major League Soccer history. Julian Gressel, a seasoned player with 228 MLS games under his belt, joined the club this season. After their recent victory, Gressel praised Suarez's performance, especially since Messi was not playing. "This was a big one," Gressel said. "Short rest, tough week, tough two weeks. Not an easy game, obviously, midweek and then to have to travel on a short rest in this league is not easy." He continued: "And to come here after going down 1-0 as well, and being able to fight back and ultimately play really well, I thought, after the first 15-20 minutes, to come away with the win and get the three points without Leo is something that I think we can take a lot from. "There's going to be stretches where there's guys at national teams, where we play through those moments, where Olympics are coming up, Copa America those types of things where we know or we've known that we have to rely on the whole squad."