Messi signs hat-trick and heads towards the MLS 2025 Golden Boot

Lionel Messi is Crowned with a Hat-Trick and Heads Towards the MLS 2025 Golden Boot

The Argentine star and Inter Miami captain, Lionel Messi, shone with a hat-trick in the last matchday of the MLS regular season, solidifying his position to win the coveted MLS Golden Boot award in 2025. Messi’s three goals, plus an assist, were crucial for Inter Miami’s 5-2 victory against Nashville SC. With this performance, the Argentinian forward reached the impressive figure of 29 goals in just 28 regular season games. With this exceptional performance, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is practically securing his first MLS top scorer title since joining Inter Miami in July 2023.

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His closest pursuer, Denis Bounaga of LAFC, is five goals away, and would need to score six goals against Colorado to snatch the award. Messi also leads the league in assists, a tiebreaker for the Golden Boot. Sam Surridge of Nashville SC is tied for second place with 24 goals after scoring against Inter Miami on Saturday. Only three players, Carlos Vela (34), Josef Martínez (31), and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (30), have scored more goals in a single MLS regular season than Messi.

Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring the first goal for Inter Miami against Nashville. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)With 19 assists, in addition to his 29 goals, Messi was one step away from Vela’s record of 49 goal contributions in a single MLS regular season. Messi’s contributions propelled Inter Miami to third place in the Eastern Conference standings, securing home-field advantage in the playoffs. The team will face Nashville again in the first round of the 2025 MLS playoffs. Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano has insisted that Messi has done more than enough on the field to deserve the MLS Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2025, which would make him the first player to win the trophy in two consecutive seasons.

“There is no doubt that Messi is the MVP of the league. Even with the disadvantage of playing fewer games than others, it’s the influence he’s had on this team,” Mascherano stated on Friday.

Javier Mascherano

Messi won the MLS MVP trophy in 2024, after recording 20 goals and 16 assists, inspiring Inter Miami to win the Supporters’ Shield and break the league record for most points recorded in a single season. Messi’s hat-trick on Saturday was his second in MLS. The first came in Inter Miami’s 6-2 victory over the New England Revolution on the final day of the 2024 regular season. He scored his first goal against Nashville from outside the area in the 35th minute, giving Inter Miami a 1-0 lead. Messi was penalized in the 63rd minute and scored to tie the match 2-2. Completed the hat-trick in the 81st minute, scoring from the center of the area with a left-footed shot and extending Inter Miami’s lead to 4-2. Messi also assisted Telasco Segovia to score Inter Miami’s fifth and final goal in stoppage time.