Landon Donovan name will now be part of MLS

Landon Donovan’s name will now be part of the MLS history forever after the league decided to rename the MVP award in honour of the former LA Galaxy forward. The American International decided to bring an end to his career after the end of the 2014 season.

He won the MLS cup in his final campaign. He has been a great ambassador for the league by playing in this top division for 14 years. He has scored 144 goals and created 136 during the span. He is the all-time leader in the league when it comes to these statistics.

Recognising the importance that Donovan has given to the MLS over the last decade, the league decided to name the MVP award as the Landon Donovan MVP award. The player himself has won this award back in 2009.

Donovan’s sudden end to the career comes as a major shock to many given that he was expected to play at least for the next few years despite citing burnout as a reason for the recent self-imposed break. Donovan said at the time of receiving the award that he is extremely honoured to have one most prestigious award in North America to be named after him. He said that he would try and live up to this name from here on.

“As a child, soccer was merely an outlet for me — a way to express myself. To have this prestigious award named after me is truly unimaginable. Thank you to Commissioner Garber, Major League Soccer and all of the people that have supported me along the way. I am extremely humbled by and proud of this honor,” said Donovan. “Landon Donovan’s commitment to growing the game in North America is unrivaled and his contributions to Major League Soccer are immeasurable. When he joined MLS in 2001, he showed other American players that this was his ‘League of Choice’,” said MLS Commissioner Garber.