Diego Valeri of the Portland Timbers has been named MVP of Major League Soccer for the 2017 season.

"To be recognized for your effort on the field, it's always nice," Valeri said. "MLS has a lot of great players. I never expected this."

Valeri beat out New York City FC's David Villa, Toronto FC's Sebastian Giovinco, Atlanta United's Miguel Almiron and the Chicago Fire's Nemanja Nikolic to win the award.

Valeri recorded a career-high 21 goals and added 11 assists to become just the second player in MLS history to record at least 20 goals and 10 assists in a single season.