NYCFC's David Villa Voted Major League Soccer MVP

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — David Villa earned Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player award after scoring 23 goals for New York City FC in his second season with the team.

Villa received the award, named after Landon Donovan, from MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Tuesday. Villa received an average of 25.9 percent of the vote in balloting by players, club officials and media.

The New York Red Bulls' Bradley Wright-Phillips was second at 19.3 percent, followed by Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan (17.6), Toronto forward Sebastian Giovinco (16.3) and Montreal midfielder Ignacio Piatti (7.7).

A World Cup champion with Spain in 2010, Villa finished second in MLS in scoring this year, one behind Wright-Phillips.

"It's a big day for me because this is one of the things I said I wanted to do when I came here two years ago," Villa said.

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"This is an important day in my career – this is an important moment for me. This award is for the best player in this amazing league which has many quality players so this is a very happy and proud day for me."

Villa, who turned 35 on Saturday, is Spain's career scoring leader with 59 goals. He scored 22 regular-season MLS goals from inside the penalty area this year, including five on penalty kicks. He led the league with 68 shots on target.

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