Atlanta United forward, Giorgos Giakoumakis of Greece won the Major League Soccer’s Newcomer of the Year for 2023 over runner-up and soccer legend, Lionel Messi of Inter Miami.
Giakoumakis, who also plays as a striker for Greece’s National team, won the award announced by MLS after scoring a team-high 17 goals for the club this season.
According to Yahoo Sport, the award “recognises the year’s most impactful player who had prior professional experience and made their MLS debut during the 2023 regular season.”
Messi received 35.54% of the vote from MLS players, while Giakoumakis received 34.34%
However, Club staffers voted for the Greek striker by 46.34% to 34.15% and media votes were overwhelmingly for Giakoumakis at 56.65% to 12.14% for Messi and 20.23% for the other finalist, German Eduard Löwen of St. Louis City.
Giakoumakis is Atlanta United’s second top Newcomer award winner, following Thiago Almada, Messi’s Argentine national team colleague, in 2022.
Source: Yahoo Sport
