Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez was given the Major League Soccer 2018 Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player Award, announced today by the league office. Martinez became the first player in club history and the first Venezuelan in league history to win the award.
Martinez shattered the MLS single-season scoring record with 31 goals this year, breaking the previous record of 27 held by Roy Lassiter, Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips. He easily won the 2018 MLS Golden Boot by nine goals over Zlatan Ibrahimoviu0107. The 25-year-old scored a league-high 10 game-winning goals (No. 2 all time), equaled the MLS record of nine consecutive matches with a goal and recorded his MLS record sixth career hat trick.