Okay, let’s get the obvious part out of the way: Lionel Messi is more than likely winning his third straight MVP. We're not delusional, and you're not new here.
But "most valuable" is a different question than "best," and on that question Petar Musa has a case worth making out loud. He scored 22 goals, roughly 40% of everything FC Dallas produced, for a team that was supposed to be fighting for a wild card.
Dax McCarty called him the best No. 9 in MLS, full stop. Let's dive in.
| Stat | Musa | Messi |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 22 | 26 |
| Assists | 5 | 16 |
| Minutes | 2145 | 2574 |
| Goals per 90 | 0.92 | 0.91 |
| Share of team's league goals | 40% | 33% |
| Multi-goal matches | 6 | 6 |
| Non-penalty goals | 17 | 25 |
| Team position | 2nd in West | 2nd in East |
All stats as of November 4, 2026.
History keeps calling his name
Let’s start with the one nobody in a Dallas shirt had ever done. Musa not only became the club’s top single-season goal scorer, but he also became the first Dallas player to surpass 20 goals in a single season.
The milestones stacked up all season long. He opened the season with a brace against Toronto FC, becoming the first Dallas player to do that in a season opener since 2001. His March 14 hat trick made him the first player in club history to record more than one hat trick. With his 12th goal of the season, he tied Kenny Cooper for third on the club’s all-time goal scoring list. He also became the fastest player in club history to reach 50 MLS regular season goals in his 78th appearance. That mark was also 10th fastest in MLS history.
Then in the league history side of things. Musa became the fifth player in MLS history to score 15-plus goals in each of his first three seasons, joining a list that includes Josef Martínez and David Villa. His brace against San Jose gave him 56 MLS goals, tying Raúl Díaz Arce for the third-most across a player's first three seasons.
He also left for the World Cup and scored for Croatia against England. Then he came back and kept going. Most players return from a summer tournament cooked. Musa returned and took over the Golden Boot lead in August.
