Atlanta United’s Giorgos Giakoumakis has been declared the 2023 MLS Rookie of the Year, surpassing Lionel Messi from Inter Miami. With an impressive record of 17 goals and 3 assists in 27 games (21 starts), the Greek international emerged as the clear winner garnering 45.8% of the votes cast by players, club technical staff, and media outlets. Eduard Lowen from St. Louis City SC came in third with 15.4% of the votes.
Atlanta United’s very own Giorgos Giakoumakis has claimed the title of MLS Rookie of the Year for 2023.
Back in February 2023, Giakoumakis joined Atlanta all the way from Celtic in Scotland. It’s worth noting that he has become the second player from Atlanta to earn this title consecutively, and the third player overall, following Thiago Almada in 2022 and Miguel Almirón in 2017.
Despite his impressive performance of scoring 11 goals in 14 games, Lionel Messi failed to win the MLS Rookie of the Year award after signing with Inter Miami in July. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to an injury that caused him to miss the majority of the trip to win the MLS play-off round. In the limited time that Messi played, he scored one goal and assisted on two others in six outings, with only four starts. Regrettably, Inter Miami lost steam and missed out on a spot in the playoff round, which contributed to Messi’s inability to win the coveted rookie title.
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Messi added another feather to his cap on October 30 as he was bestowed with the prestigious 2023 Golden Ball. This accolade is given based on votes from 100 journalists hailing from the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations. It is Messi’s eighth time clinching the Golden Ball in his awe-inspiring career.