Lionel Messi has made plenty of history in Major League Soccer since joining Inter Miami in 2023, and he’s on the precipice of more after bagging two goals and an assist in a 3–0 win over Atlanta United on Saturday night.
After sitting out Argentina’s friendly against Venezuela on Friday, Messi returned to Miami’s roster amid the international break to play against Atlanta with eyes on the 2025 MLS Golden Boot.
His Argentina teammates, including Miami’s Rodrigo De Paul, who remained with La Albiceleste and did not bounce back to the Herons, attended the match at Chase Stadium as well.
Messi opened the scoring for Miami in the 39th minute after missing several chances, finally beating Canadian goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert before adding his second in the 87th minute. His 25th and 26th goals of the season pushed him into the Golden Boot lead and out of a tie on 24 goals with LAFC’s Denis Bouanga.
The 38-year-old also set up Jordi Alba to put the Herons up 2–0 in the 52nd minute, giving Alba a highlight moment after the Spaniard announced his retirement earlier in the week despite signing a contract extension through 2027 in May.
Luis Suárez made it 3–0 in the 61st minute to continue the Barcelona party.
Messi’s showing pushed him to 44 goal contributions in 2025, ranking as the second most for a single season in MLS history. The Argentine now only trails Carlos Vela’s 49 goal contributions in 2019, which included 35 goals.
With one match to remaining, Messi’s performance also lofted his campaign for the 2025 MLS MVP Award, as he looks to become the first player to ever win the honor in back-to-back seasons despite falling short of the Golden Boot in 2024.
His status for Argentina’s relocated game at Chase Stadium against Puerto Rico on Monday remains unclear.
