Although he has only made a handful of appearances in Major League Soccer, Lionel Messi has been nominated for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

Since his July transfer to Inter Miami, the hypnotic Argentine has been nothing short of a phenomenon. They went from being win-averse stragglers to an all-conquering powerhouse thanks to his 11 goals in 12 games and his assistance in the club’s first piece of silverware. This isn’t a bad beginning, huh?

Even yet, the fact that he has already been nominated for MLS’s 2023 MVP award despite having appeared in only four league matches thus far is surprising. Each of the other candidates has made over 25 MLS appearances this year, with the exception of Messi’s teammate Sergio Busquets, who also joined Miami in the summer.

Still, Messi is favored by some bookmakers to take home the trophy, just as he is expected to do so for a record seventh Ballon d’Or later this month. Thiago Almada, a teammate of Messi’s in Argentina, Riqui Puig, a teammate of Messi’s at Barcelona, and current MLS leading scorer Denis Bouanga are also other candidates.

Despite Messi’s positive influence on the team’s culture, the Florida-based organization is now in last place in the Eastern Conference after dropping 16 of 31 matches. Their form has dipped since Messi, 36, went down with an injury last month, but they have won three of their nine games when he has played.

Fans will have to wait until February of 2019 to see the World Cup-winning magician in action, since the MLS regular season concludes at the end of October and Inter Miami is very certain not to make the Play-Offs. But new rumours suggest Messi might attempt to secure a short-term loan move to a European team in January, with Barcelona his most probable destination.