Lionel Messi doesn’t appear to be winding down in MLS, he’s speeding up. On Saturday, the 39-year-old scored four goals in Inter Miami’s 7-1 demolition of CF Montréal at Nu Stadium, the club’s biggest win in its history, and his first four-goal haul since arriving in the league.
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The performance vaulted him from third place to the outright lead in this season’s Golden Boot race, taking his tally to 18 goals.
It continues a pattern that’s defined his time in America. Messi enters this season as the reigning MLS Golden Boot winner, having posted 29 goals and 19 assists in just 28 games in 2025, the best combined single-season output in league history.
He’s also MLS’s all-time leading scorer in Leagues Cup history, with 14 goals in the competition since its expanded format launched in 2023, one clear of LAFC’s Denis Bouanga.
The individual brilliance has translated into silverware too. Inter Miami won their first-ever MLS Cup in December 2025, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1, having already claimed the Supporters’ Shield the year before with a record-breaking points tally.
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Messi has been the club’s talisman throughout, closing in on 100 career goals for Inter Miami across all competitions in little more than three seasons since his move from PSG in 2023.
With Decision Day set for 7 November, Messi now holds a genuine advantage over Golden Boot rivals like Petar Musa and Nicolás Fernández Mercau, both of whom have spent the season chasing his form rather than matching it.
Messi 🐐 with Inter Miami 2023-2026‼️
1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣ Games ✅
1️⃣5️⃣1️⃣ Goal Contributions ✅
9️⃣8️⃣ Goals ⚽️✅
5️⃣3️⃣ Assists 🅰️✅7️⃣4️⃣ MLS Total Goals ⚽️✅
1️⃣4️⃣ Leagues Cup Total Goals ⚽️✅
8️⃣ CONCACAF Champions Cup Total Goals ⚽️✅
1️⃣ Club World Cup ⚽️✅
1️⃣ US Open Cup ⚽️✅5️⃣0️⃣ Man of… pic.twitter.com/WYto3Lt7sL
— 🅱🅸🅲🅷⚽️🆈 (@Messi_TheGOAT) August 30, 2026
Photo: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
